Nu i helgen var tanken ursprungligen att UFC London skulle äga rum. Till följd av det coronavirus som nu spridits över världen fick dock galan ställas in och huvudmatchen mellan Tyron Woodley och Leon Edwards blir inte av. Matchen har dock inte bokats om till ett senare tillfälle och Edwards hävdar nu att Woodley försöker undvika att möta honom.
Omöjligt att hinna till USA
I en intervju med MMAFighting berättar Edwards att då UFC ursprungligen försökte boka om galan i USA nu till helgen så hade han omöjligt lite tid på sig att samla sina coacher och sedan ta sig till flygplatsen, vilket gjorde att han blev tvungen att ställa in mötet med Woodley.
I went to sleep on Saturday night, woke up on Sunday around 9 a.m., got a phone call from my manager saying the event’s been cancelled and they want me to get to the states. I had to get to the airport in London by 11 a.m. I was like that’s not possible to do that. From my house to the airport is like a two hour drive and to get my coaches ready and deal with their family and we didn’t know where the fight was. We didn’t know where we were flying to. It was just a crazy, crazy day. We didn’t know if we’d be able to get home. Not even me but my coaches. They’re older men in their 40s and they’ve got families, they’ve got kids, they’ve got businesses, they didn’t know what’s going to happen. So it was hard for me to pull them away from their families and their businesses and not knowing the plan, where they’re going, when they’re coming home to their kids, especially with a travel ban coming on Monday morning. It was impossible to get done.
”Woodley undviker mig”
Efter att matchen mellan Woodley och Edwards inte blev av såg det ett tag ut som att Woodley och Colby Covington istället skulle mötas. Då galan i sig inte blev av överhuvudtaget sa Woodley via sociala medier att han oavsett siktar på att möta Covington härnäst. Enligt Edwards beror detta på att Woodley försöker undvika honom.
He knows the fight to happen is me and him. Now he’s calling out Colby Covington. He’s trying to do this, trying to do that. He doesn’t want to fight me. I knew from when I beat Rafael Dos Anjos and he was there watching it that he didn’t want to fight me. Now everyone can see what I’m talking about. He doesn’t want to fight me. He knows he’s going to get his ass whooped and he doesn’t want to fight me. He’s avoiding me at all costs. He’s calling out Colby when the fight got cancelled because of a world epidemic a couple of hours ago. He doesn’t want to fight me. I know it. But we need to get it rebooked. We need to get it done.
Woodley är inte i en position att kräva matcher
Att Woodley undviker motståndare och “gnäller” är anledningar till att Woodley inte är en mer populär fighter, enligt Edwards. Edwards anser inte heller att Woodley är i en position där han kan kräva matcher mot fighters som Covington.
Now you can see why people don’t really like him. He moans a lot. He’s just a weird, weird guy. Me and him wouldn’t be friends outside of fighting. We’re two different human beings. Two different personalities. But you can tell why people don’t like him. He’s getting older as well. He’s 37 or 38. His leverage is disappearing. He’s coming off a bad loss. His last five fights weren’t the best. For him to try and dictate what he wants next ‘I’m only fighting Colby next,’ it doesn’t warrant the position that he’s in.
Enligt Edwards finns det bara 4 matcher han skulle ta i nuläget: Woodley, Covington, Jorge Masvidal eller en titelmatch. Han siktar dock på att möta Woodley och ber honom att bara acceptera matchen så snart som möjligt.
For me, there’s no other option. I’m way overdue for a title shot let alone fighting Woodley. I’m only fighting Woodley as a favor just to get to beat a former world champion again. Add his scalp to this and get the world title. I truly believe I deserved a world title shot two or three fights ago. I’d fight Colby as well. Colby, Jorge Masvidal or Woodley or the title shot. Stop being a bitch and let’s get the fight done. It was already booked. It got postponed because of what was happening in the world. It was out of my control, out of his control and out of the UFC’s control. Now let’s give the fans the fight they want to see. The fight’s been booked. Let’s get it done.
Matchen mellan Edwards och Woodley var tänkt att stå som huvudmatch på UFC London som skulle ägt rum den 21:a mars i London, England.
