Leon Edwards’ Coach Wants Title Defense Against Gilbert Burns
At UFC 296, Leon Edwards defended the welterweight title against Colby Covington. In the search for a new contender, Edwards’ head coach Dave Lovell spotlighted Gilbert Burns as his top choice for the next title contender. The decision to anoint Burns comes as a surprise considering Belal Muhammad and Shavkat Rakhmonov are widely considered the two best options for Edwards’ next fight.
Lovell discussed Edwards’ next fight on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani. All quotes via The Score.
“To be honest, if I really had a choice – but I don’t think it will happen – I would like Leon to fight Burns,” Lovell said. “But Burns had two bites at the cherry. I think maybe (the UFC would) want Burns maybe to have a couple more before if he was gonna be a contender for Leon.
“But if I had a choice who was gonna be next, I would prefer Burns over Belal. Because I think Burns brings more to the table than Belal.”
Burns is currently booked to fight Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 299. If he is victorious in that position, he will be on the verge of a title fight; however, it is hard to imagine Burns getting a title shot before Muhammad or Rakhmonov. It does not help that Burns’ most recent fight was a loss against Muhammad–making it hard to justify another crack at the title.
Muhammad has already called out Edwards. It is hard to deny his 10-fight unbeaten streak. In all likelihood, Edwards versus Muhammad is the fight that gets made.
Edwards later clarified the comments and claimed he told the UFC he would fight Muhammad if that was the fight that the organization preferred.
Dismissing future contenders has become a trend throughout Edwards’ title reign. Previously, he claimed Covington would not get an opportunity to fight for the belt. That obviously did not go to plan as Edwards’ was lined up against the former interim champion. Now, he is doing the same to Muhammad.
The real surprise in the welterweight title picture would be if the UFC selected Rakhmonov over Muhammad. All in all, it is highly unlikely Burns get the next shot at Edwards.
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