UFC looking at ‘every venue in England’ for Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman 3
Briton Edwards avenged a 2015 loss to Usman by dethroning the welterweight champion, setting up a potential trilogy bout
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Your support makes all the difference.UFC president Dana White has said the promotion is exploring ‘every venue in England’ for a potential trilogy fight between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman.
Edwards became Britain’s second ever UFC champion by taking the welterweight title from Usman on Saturday, knocking out the Nigerian-American with a head kick in the final round to avenge a 2015 points loss.
Jamaican-born Edwards, who has spent most of his life in Birmingham, was down on the scorecards at UFC 278 when he produced a stunning finish to dethrone Usman, and a third fight between the pair is now on the cards.
“This thing is going to be so huge, not just for the UK but for Europe,” White said at a press conference this week.
“We would hold it prime time in the UK. We’re looking at every option out there right now, we’re looking at all the venues in England – not just London, we’re looking at every venue in England.
“We’re looking at everything. There’s a lot of curfews and things you gotta deal with in England, but we literally worked on that today.
“We put a Fight Night on at the O2 [Arena, London] and it sells out in minutes. Imagine what we can do with this thing. It’s gonna be massive over there. We weren’t planning on going to England again, just like last time I left England.”
The UFC typically vists the UK once or twice a year and has primarily staged London events in recent years.
Following a hugely successful UFC London card this March, the promotion made a swift turnaround to stage another event at the O2 Arena in July.
While White has tended to dismiss the idea of stadium shows, and the UFC has only hosted a small number since its inception in the 1990s, London’s Wembley Stadium was mentioned by the UFC president as a potential venue for Edwards vs Usman 3.
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