Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev fight reportedly off again

An anticipated welterweight matchup between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev is off again, according to reports out of Sweden and Russia.

Edward and Chimaev were originally expected to meet in the main event of a Fight Night card in Las Vegas on December 19. Unfortunately, that plan was derailed when Edwards came down with COVID-19.

The pair were then rescheduled to fight in the main event of a Fight Night card on January 20, but according to FrontKick.Online and RT Sport, the fight is off again.

Khamzat Chimaev is in fact OFF the Jan 20th card.

Sources confirm @KChimaev will no longer be fighting against @Leon_edwardsmma on #UFCFightIsland8. Reason undisclosed.

At this point, it is unclear if the fight will get rebooked for a third time. pic.twitter.com/hReq4AEo8h

— Frontkick.online (@FrontkickOnline) December 29, 2020

❌ Khamzat Chimaev vs. Leon Edwards is OFF after RT Sport confirmed with sources close to the situation, after an initial report from @FrontkickOnline

The welterweight main event, set for January 20th on UFC Fight Island will no longer go ahead for reasons which remain unclear. pic.twitter.com/l7C4kLrYfd

— RT Sport (@RTSportNews) December 29, 2020

Leon Edwards currently holds the No. 3 spot in the UFC welterweight rankings. The Brit earned that spot with an incredible eight-fight win-streak, highlighted by triumphs over Vicente Luque, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Gunnar Nelson, and most recently, Rafael dos Anjos. He has not lost since 2015, when he gave up a decision to Kamaru Usman, who now holds the UFC welterweight title in a vice grip.

Prior to this planned fight with Chimaev, Edwards was expected to battle former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, but that fight was cancelled due to the initial travel restrictions associated with the coronavirus pandemic. Needless to say, it’s been a particularly unlucky year for the Brit.

Khamzat Chimaev, on the other hand, was the breakout UFC star of summer, 2020. The Chechen-Swede first picked up two wins in the span of 10 days on Fight Island in July, defeating John Phillips by first-round submission and Rhys McKee by first-round TKO, then picked up his third win of the season when he knocked out Gerald Meerschaert at UFC Vegas 11, also in the first round.

In the wake of those wins, Chimaev began calling out a host of high-profile fighters, and ultimately got the kind of test he sought in Edwards, though many fans feel he hasn’t earned this massive step up in competition.

Stay tuned for further updates on the status of this Edwards vs. Chimaev fight.