Leon Edwards Confirms Return at UFC 322

Who Will Leon Edwards Face?

Leon Edwards is in a tricky situation. He had to endure a 10 fight winning run just to get a title shot. After making two impressive defences of his strap, he would lose the belt in dominant fashion to Belal Muhammad. He’d then return to action , only to be dominated again; however, this time he was finished by Sean Brady.

Ranked #4, Edwards is still within touching distance of a title shot, likely only one win away from competing for the belt again. It all depends on his next fight, however.

There’s one logical fight, especially in New York City for Leon Edwards. It’s an all-European clash with Ian Machado Garry. Garry is ranked #6 and has bounced back from his lone loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov with a decision win against the in-form, Carlos Prates.

Where Edwards has struggled in his past two fights is his takedown defence and bottom game. He has been taken down 14 times in those two fights and has averaged being taken down five times in each of his last five fights. Garry is predominantly a striker, averaging just 1.02 takedowns per fight, however, is more than capable of wrestling when necessary.

Why Garry is a good shout to face Edwards in New York is because the UFC and Dana White like to put the Irishman on big cards. Of his 10 UFC fights, eight have been on PPV and one of the ones that wasn’t, he was the headliner. He also debuted in Madison Square Garden back in 2021.

Who Else?

Another potential opponent for Leon Edawards is Carlos Prates. The exciting Brazilian is ranked #9 in the division and recently bounced back from his first UFC loss with a spinning back elbow knockout of Geoff Neal. Prates is 5-1 in the UFC, knocking out every opponent he’s beaten and has notched a performance of the night bonus for every win. He’s just the kind of fighter who should be competing on big cards and UFC 322 is set to be just that.

He called Edwards out for a fight in Brazil in October, however, putting the fight off a month and making it for UFC 322 in November makes sense.

Another opponent Edwards could be standing across from is Michael Morales. The Ecuadorian is undefeated, ranked #7 and has been on a tear in the UFC. He’s 6-0 in the promotion, scoring four knockouts and his last two fights have earned him performance of the night bonuses. At 18-0 and just 26 years old, the future is bright for Morales. To have a former champion on his record would be beneficial for Morales, so this one could be made sooner rather than later.

Whatever happens, it will be good to see Rocky, Leon Edwards back in the octagon.