Daniel Cormier wouldn’t be surprised if Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman fight a fourth time down the line.
Despite being deducted a point, Edwards (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) was able to retain his welterweight title with a majority decision win over Usman (20-3 MMA, 15-2 UFC) to close out their trilogy in this past Saturday’s UFC 286 headliner at The O2 in London.
But with ex-champ Usman having previously dominated the division with finishes over Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal, Cormier sees him and Edwards ahead of the pack. Edwards doesn’t see himself fighting Usman again, but Usman thinks otherwise.
“I don’t know if this is the end,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “I feel like this is one of those situations where we may get a fourth fight between two athletes. We saw it with (Brandon) Moreno and (Deiveson) Figueiredo, and I’m not sure we don’t see it again with these two because they are that much better than the rest of the division.”
But Cormier says after Edwards solidified himself as welterweight champion, that opens the door to several new matchups.
“Leon Edwards has a ton of people (available). Leon Edwards has the world at his fingertips,” Cormier added. “He’s got so many options: Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal, Belal Muhammad, Gilbert Burns. He is a refreshing addition to the top of the division. We saw a changing of the guard at welterweight.”
Colby Covington weighed in as a backup for Edwards’ rubber match with Usman, and Dana White declared him next in line. However, Edwards has other plans and fancies a potential grudge match with Jorge Masvidal if he can get past Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 on April 8.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.
