Leon Edwards has his sights set on Conor McGregor. This summer, Edwards will defend his welterweight title against Belal Muhammad on July 27 at UFC 304 in Manchester, England.
This event is scheduled just a month after McGregor’s highly anticipated return to the cage at UFC 303. If both Edwards and McGregor emerge victorious, “Rocky” sees a potential showdown between them as the next logical step.
“One hundred percent. Why not? Let’s give him the opportunity to become three-division world champion,” Edwards recently said on The MMA Hour.
“Give me the opportunity to take out a guy like Conor McGregor. New York, that would be perfect. That is the fight. I feel like he’s got to take out Michael, I take out ‘No-one-remembers-his-name’ and we’ll go from there. We’ll go to New York, MSG, let’s go!”
![](https://www.micenewsph.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Conor-McGregor-UFC-1.jpg)
“That’s the fight. We’ve got business to take care of, but that’s the fight. That’s what needs to happen and it should happen.”
McGregor, the biggest star in MMA history, was the first to hold two UFC titles simultaneously, capturing both the featherweight and lightweight belts in 2016.
However, his journey since then has been rocky, with a record of just 1-3 over the past eight years.
Most recently, McGregor suffered a devastating leg injury in his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, which has kept him sidelined for nearly three years. He is now set to return in a 170-pound bout against career lightweight Michael Chandler.
Edwards acknowledges that this potential fight is not something he has discussed with the UFC yet, but he believes that if both he and McGregor win their upcoming fights, the possibilities are endless.
![](https://www.micenewsph.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Leon-Edwards-UFC-1-scaled.jpeg)
“I heard a little noise but nothing to get excited about,” Edwards said when asked about the fight’s likelihood.
“Like I said, we’ve both got fights on our hands that we need to get past first before getting that far in. I have to go out there and take care of Belal, he goes out there and takes care of what he needs to take care of, and we’ll go from there.”
Despite McGregor’s long layoff, serious injury, and recent struggles, Edwards still has faith in him. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, but the UFC welterweight champion is backing McGregor to show his vintage “Notorious” form against Chandler.
“I think he beats him,” Edwards said. “If you watch them stylistically, I feel like Conor is a very sharpshooter, counterstriker, and Chandler plays off his aggression.
He likes to entertain the crowd and scrap. He’s too small, as well. I feel like he’s going to walk onto the back hand. It’s going to be a good fight, but I’m favoring Conor for this fight.”
McGregor vs. Chandler headlines UFC 303, taking place June 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings