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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Harry Davies

Fabian Edwards to fight MMA legend Lyoto Machida at Bellator London

Fabian Edwards has been pulled from his scheduled fight next weekend to face Lyoto Machida at Bellator London in May.

Edwards was scheduled to fight Marian Dimitrov at Bellator's event in Dublin on February 26, but the promotion has instead booked him to fight Machida on May 13.

It's unclear if the promotion will seek a replacement for Dimitrov or he will be removed from next week's card entirely.

Edwards was looking to get back in the win column against Dimitrov after losing his last two fights against Costello van Steenis and Austin Vanderford.

Birmingham's Edwards admitted it was frustrating to be pulled from the Dublin card, but is happy to be fighting Machida instead.

Fabian Edwards will fight Lyoto Machida at Bellator London (Bellator)

"I was annoyed because I've been getting ready for a fight for about seven weeks now and my last time in Dublin got cancelled as well, so it seems Dublin's bad luck for me," he told Mirror Fighting .

"I got the news, spoke to my team and I was happy that we were able to get something sorting quickly, I wasn't sitting around wondering what's going to happen.

"It's definitely more exciting. I feel like not just for myself as I think the fans will enjoy this one more than Dublin, but personally I don't really mind who the opponent is.

"If you have to pick over both of them guys, f*** Dimitrov or whatever his name is, I'd want to pick Machida as it's a bigger fight.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Machida signed for Bellator in 2018 and won his first two fights in the promotion.

The 43-year-old will return to 185-pounds against Edwards after losing three consecutive fights at 205-pounds.

Who wins at Bellator London - Fabian Edwards or Lyoto Machida? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below

Edwards said he watched Machida during his UFC days but wasn't the biggest fan of him and predicted a second-round stoppage win in their fight.

"I'm going in there for a stoppage. Controlled aggression and I think I'll stop him, to stop someone like that on your record it's massive," he continued.

"I've watched him, but I wasn't like a mad crazy fan. I feel like he's been doing the same things his whole career, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't.

"Not in a disrespectful way, but I'm not going out there to show respect. I'll go in there to take him and out and show respect after the fights done.

"It's been a long time since I've fought an actual striker and I think I'll be able to stop him in the second round."

Tickets to watch Fabian Edwards in action at Bellator London: Amosov vs. MVP are on sale now and can be purchased online from axs.com/uk and Bellator.com

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