Fabian Edwards: Tyron Woodley ‘off doing show business,’ won’t accept fight with Leon Edwards
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Leon Edwards’ declaration that the UFC tried to make a bout between he and Tyron Woodley as co-main event for Conor McGregor’s Jan. 18 return picked up some serious traction.
But Leon’s younger brother, Fabian Edwards, doesn’t think former champion Woodley will sign on the dotted line.
Speaking to MMA Fighting ahead of his co-main event clash with Mike Shipman at Bellator London on Nov. 23, the undefeated prospect said Woodley is too busy with “show business” to compete these days.
“I’m not confident that will happen on Woodley’s part,” Edwards said. “He’s too busy being a rapper or a singer. I don’t feel like he’s interested in any kind of fighting, especially MMA.
“I heard him calling out (Saul) ‘Canelo’ (Alvarez) recently, and that’s says it all to me – someone took your title and haven’t tried to get it back once. He’s not hungry to get his title back, and I don’t feel like he’s hungry to fight, so I’m not really banking on that fight being made.”
At this stage, Edwards feels the division’s elite are ducking his surging sibling.
“He’s being ducked by everyone,” said Edwards. “If you’ve watched my brother fight and you understand MMA, it’s easy to see how elite he is. He went in there with a former champion and dominated the fight; he got in there with an elite grappler and out grappled him and left unscathed. Everyone is trying to line themselves up for that title shot, and they know that fighting my brother is an incredibly risky fight. That’s why they don’t want to take it.”
Despite being stuck without a dance partner for the time being, Edwards is confident that it’s only a matter of time before his older brother has UFC gold wrapped around his waist.
“Our coach has always told me and my brother, ‘All you have to do is keep winning.’ That’s all my brother has been doing and he should be the guy fighting for the title, and people are starting to mention his name in these talks. That’s what it should be about, winning. It’s shame that a couple of guys have jumped over him after a couple of good wins. It’s a shame that it happened, but at the end of the day, we just have to focus on winning. There’s only so long they can deny him for.”