Leon Edwards hopes to be back in the UFC welterweight title picture by summer.
Former champion Edwards (22-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) will look to rebound when he takes on rising contender Carlos Prates (22-7 MMA, 5-1 UFC) at UFC 322 on Nov. 15 from Madison Square Garden in New York.
After a 13-fight unbeaten run, Edwards lost his welterweight title to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304, then was submitted by Sean Brady at UFC Fight Night 255 in March. The 34-year-old is excited to face a different stylistic matchup in Prates, in which he sees a win putting him within striking distance of gold.
“I’ve fought all the wrestlers in the division, now getting my hands on a striker – more free-flowing,” Edwards told UFC Europe. “I’m excited to go out there and put up my skills against his. The division at the moment is wide open. I feel like the cards back-to-back – my card, then you’ve got Belal (Muhammad) and Ian (Machado Garry) the week after – whoever performs the best gets the next title shot.
“I’m truly feeling the best I’ve ever felt in my life. I’ve had my time off, I’ve refocused, I’ve regained where I left off, so I’m excited to go out and perform in an arena like MSG. It’s one of the arenas that when you’re old and retired, you think back, ‘F*ck, I did MSG!’ So I’m taking it in both arms, I am excited, I am focused, and I am ready.”
Edwards knows he’ll likely need one more win after, and has his sights set on Ian Machado Garry (16-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC), who meets Belal Muhammad in the UFC Fight Night 265 co-headliner on Nov. 22 in Qatar.
“He’s got like a little momentum going on now. He’s the new kid on the block,” Edwards said of Prates. “He’s just coming off a good finish in his last fight, so I feel like me going out there and taking him out will prove that I am the best in the world again.
“After MSG, (if) I put on the best performance of my life, that will set me up. I want one more fight early March or April, then I want to fight for the world title in summer. That’s what I’m envisioning for myself. I go out there, I take him out, and I’d like to get Ian next, put him away, and get back for the title. Whoever’s got it at the time, I’ll be ready to go.”
