Leon Edwards expects to fight Kamaru Usman

Leon Edwards believes that a third fight with Kamaru Usman is inevitable. Recently, there have been speculations that Usman has a hand injury and won't be ready to compete for the UFC welterweight championship.

But Edwards asserted that he fully anticipates finishing the trilogy with Usman on March 18 at UFC 286 in London.

"Yeah, 100%," Edwards said on the "Believe You Me" podcast when asked if he was fighting Usman on that date. "That's what I've been told. I spoke to the UFC last week, I think, and they said, 'Nah, the fight's on. He's already training for the fight.' So I was like, 'OK, perfect.”

"So I am aiming toward that. But if something changes in the meantime, then we'll go from there. But now I am focusing on that trilogy against Usman in London."

In one of the greatest comebacks in UFC history, Edwards stopped Usman with a left head kick in the fifth round to win the 170-pound title in August.

Usman came into the battle as the pound-for-pound king and with a record of five victories in title defences. Edwards' knockout was named one of the Knockout of the Year, and it was certainly one of the wildest finishes in MMA history.

Since his first encounter with Usman in 2015, Birmingham, England native Edwards hasn't suffered a defeat in MMA.