UFC star Leon Edwards couldn’t help but laugh when asked about his title shot against Kamaru Usman taking place in Utah.
Last Saturday night, it was finally announced that Kamaru Usman will be defending his UFC welterweight title against Leon Edwards at UFC 278 on August 20. ‘Rocky’ has been waiting for his chance to challenge for the strap for a long time now with fans praising the promotion for actually putting this rematch together.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has long since been viewed as one of the greatest welterweights of all time, but Edwards has put together a 10-fight unbeaten streak to ensure that he cannot be denied any longer.
Alas, while the bout actually happening is the priority, some are confused as to why it’s going down in Salt Lake City, Utah.
During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, the 30-year-old Edwards admitted that he wasn’t even sure where the state is.
“I haven’t got a clue where Utah is [laughs]! I don’t know, I ain’t got a clue where it is. Where the f*** is Utah?! I wanted it to be in Vegas. When I walk along the street in Birmingham, everyone asks when’s the fight, where’s the fight, and I thought it was gonna be in Vegas - now it’s gonna be in Utah! I was like, mate.”
“I’ve heard of Utah but I ain’t got a clue where it is. Whereabouts? Is it by Vegas?”
Ariel clarified that it’s on the west coast before asking Leon why exactly the fight is going down in Salt Lake City.
“I ain’t got a clue. It’s only been this week they’ve confirmed it’s Utah. At first it was like they might change venues, might be somewhere else, but now it’s 100% Utah. But, yeah. It’s mad. I couldn’t give two s***s, this is my opportunity to become a world champion and I’ve been working for it for a long time. Whether it’s here, there, I couldn’t give two s***s.”
Run it back
Edwards and Usman first fought one another in December 2015 in Orlando, Florida. On that night Usman didn’t have all too much trouble in getting past Birmingham’s favourite MMA sensation, securing a unanimous decision win.
Almost seven years later, though, Edwards knows what he has to do in order to cause the champ problems.