Breaking | Khamzat Chimaev out of scheduled UFC fight with Leon Edwards

Khamzat Chimaev has been forced to pull out of his fight with Leon Edwards on March 13.

Chimaev and Edwards were scheduled to face one another on December 19 and January 20 but both fights were postponed due to both men getting COVID-19. They were then rescheduled for March 13 but UFC president, Dana White revealed to ESPN that Chimaev has been forced to pull out of the fight due to lingering effects of the virus. The promotion is now moving on from the fight and the UFC is searching for a new opponent to fight Edwards.

Khamzat Chimaev burst onto the scene in the UFC with three stoppage wins. He fought twice in a 10-day stretch with a submission win over John Phillips and a TKO win over Rhys McKee. He then moved back up to middleweight and scored a one-punch KO win over Gerald Meerscheart.

Leon Edwards has not fought since he beat Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Sacramento in July of 2019. Since then, he has been calling for a fight but due to the pandemic has been out of action. The Englishman does hold wins over Donald Cerrone, Vicente Luque, and Gunnar Nelson but if he beat Chimaev, he would’ve gotten a lot of hype.

As of right now, who would replace Khamzat Chimaev to face Leon Edwards is uncertain at this time. There would be plenty of options in Stephen Thompson or Michael Chiesa among others. However, first and foremost before the Swede even fights again he will need to fully recover from COVID-19 which has now pulled him from two fights.

For Leon Edwards, this is no doubt disappointing as he wanted to remain on the January 20 card but the UFC decided to push the fight back. The good news is, the Englishman will get a new fight and get the chance to make the walk to Octagon again soon.

Who do you think should replace Khamzat Chimaev to face Leon Edwards? Let us know in the comment section.