Leon Edwards will not fight on January 20, UFC plans to rebook Khamzat Chimaev fight according to Dana White

Leon Edwards will not be fighting on January 20 after all.

Edwards was set to headline the card against Khamzat Chimaev in a really intriguing bout. However, it was revealed the Swede was out of the fight due to COVID-19, but Edwards made it clear he still wanted to fight on that date which won’t happen.

According to UFC president, Dana White, the promotion plans on rebooking Edwards vs. Chimaev once the Swede is healthy.

“He won’t (be headlining the card). What we are doing is we are going to push that fight back. I don’t why, I just saw Ali came out today and said he had COVID,” White said to The Schmo about Leon Edwards. “I don’t know why he wasn’t telling people that but for some reason, he didn’t want people to know he had COVID. The doctor told him when he went back to the gym, I guess he was having some problems with his lungs, Khamzat was. They told him to take some more time off and not start training until early January. We are going to push that fight back and we are going to do Magny vs. Chiesa as the main event.”

Leon Edwards is currently on an eight-fight winning streak but has not fought since July of last year when he defeated Rafael dos Anjos. During his run, he also has beaten the likes of Vicente Luque, Donald Cerrone, and Gunnar Nelson. He was supposed to face Tyron Woodley in March but due to the pandemic, the fight was canceled.

Khamzat Chimaev, meanwhile, is a perfect 3-0 in the UFC with three stoppage wins. He had a successful debut as he dominated John Phillips and 10 days later TKO’d Rhys McKee. Chimaev capped off the year with a highlight-reel KO win over Gerald Meerschaert.

Do you think the UFC should’ve booked Leon Edwards to fight someone else on January 20?