Leon Edwards has reportedly been offered his show and win money to step aside and allow a fight between Kamaru Usman and Conor McGregor.
Top contender Edwards is pencilled in to fight UFC welterweight champion Usman at UFC 276 in July, but despite Dana White confirming the match up it is not yet official. The fight has been brought into question after McGregor recently called for a shot at Usman upon his return later this year.
Former two-weight champion McGregor wants a chance to become the first three-weight champion in UFC history by securing a fight with Usman, but the pound-for-pound No.1 has laughed at the Irishman's call out and vowed to " murder " him if they fought.
According to MMA analyst Chael Sonnen, a step aside offer has been made to Edwards to allow the fight. "I am being told that Leon has been offered his show and his win [money], whatever was negotiated for Leon to fight Kamaru is being offered to him," Sonnen said on his YouTube channel.
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"'We will mail you a cheque to step aside. We have the right to push you aside, we don’t want any hard feelings and we acknowledge that you deserve this. So, we are going to send you what you agreed on and you get to stay home.’ With the belief being that Conor’s going to step in.
"I don't believe this rumour by the way, I'm just sharing with you anytime you don't have something locked up... Leon [vs Kamaru] is not done. There are some real moving parts there, quite frankly I don't know if we are going to see Kamaru Usman fight in two years from now."
Usman is currently recovering from hand surgery but is on course to defend his belt in the summer. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' has admitted he could bring his MMA career to an end sooner than later and has boldly called out boxing star Canelo Alvarez for a crossover fight later this year.
Edwards has laughed at Usman's call out of Alvarez, stating: "There's no way he's going to beat Canelo anyway and there's no way he's beating me. It's either the payday or he's trying to test himself, one or the other. I'll be the champion when he leaves, so I'll take the belt off of him then he can go and do what he wants to do."
