It’s like the untitled version of the fight between Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk that kicked off this piece, because it is an opportunity for Edwards to dispel any doubt as to his position as a serious competitor. in the middleweight division, while offering Woodley the opportunity to prove that he is still an important factor in the pursuit of the championship in the ranks of 170 pounds.
Edwards took advantage of the UFC’s annual visit to London in March as an annual opportunity to take another step forward in his career, having fought on the map each of the past three years, winning victories over Vicente Luque, Peter Sobotta and Gunnar Nelson.
These are just three of his eight consecutive victories inside the Octagon, the last of which came against eternal competitor Rafael Dos Anjos last summer. The silent Birmingham competitor has constantly improved his grappling, always wielding good fast hands and has proven that he can spend 25 minutes on a good clip, leaving him a signature win over a shy former title holder to be ready to fight for championship gold.
When he enters the cage in London, it will be 385 days since Woodley’s last competition. That night, he entered the Octagon as reigning welterweight champion and this time around, he will seek to prove that he is still one of the best talents in the ranks of 170 pounds. . “The Chosen One” will be 38 next month and although he hasn’t been in too many major wars during his 10-year career and 24 fights, Father Time finally catches up with everyone and it’s not that one more question Woodley is going to have to answer when he comes back to action against the spinning Edwards.
Much like the lightweight division, things are somewhat unstable and uncertain at the top of the welterweight division at the moment, so even if the winner here will have very good reasons for a title won in the second half of 2020 , it’s more of a “table” fight similar to the Lee-Oliveira clash the week before than a true title eliminator.
