UFC Fight Island 8: Khazmat Chimaev and Leon Edwards Fight is OFF
For the second time this year, the bout between Khazmat Chimaev and Leon Edwards is off. While the two athletes were originally scheduled to compete on December 19th, Edwards contracted Covid-19 and was forced off the card. While the pair were expected to headline the January 20th card on fight island, plans have now been thrown asunder. First to report the news Tuesday morning was FrontKick. However, with little information, no one knows yet, the reason why Chimaev (9-0) withdrew from his highly anticipated bout. With the UFC scrambling to put another main event together, some big fight news is coming down the pipeline surely.
Khazmat Chimaev and Leon Edwards OFF for Jan. 20 bout
This is all unfortunate news considering the momentum behind Chimaev. Earlier this year he impressed the masses on fight island. Essentially pulling off the quickest turnaround in modern UFC history. Chimaev’s ascension in the organization has been meteoric. Overall, the Swedish native has strung together three solid wins in the octagon. Which culminated in his best performance against Gerald Meerschaert, who he destroyed in 17-seconds. Despite the Edwards (18-3) fight not materializing, he still remains a huge name for when he returns to the cage.
Entering the bout with more experience, England’s Edwards brings a laborious pace every fight. Additionally, with wins over Vicente Luque, Donald Cerrone, and Rafael dos Anjos, Edwards has shown he belongs among the elite at welterweight. Eager to fight after being out for over a year, time will tell if the UFC will be able to slot someone in against Edwards for a headliner spot on Jan 20.
With the exclusion of Khazmat Chimaev and Leon Edwards, here are the scheduled bouts for fight island 8:
- Michael Chiesa vs. Neil Magny
- Viviane Araujo vs. Roxanne Modafferi
- Tyson Nam vs. Matt Schnell
- Francisco Figueredo vs. Jerome Rivera
- Dean Barry vs. Mike Jackson
- Pedro Munhoz vs. Jimmie Rivera
- Matt Brown vs. Carlos Condit
- Zarrukh Adashev vs. Jeffrey Molina
- Lerone Murphy vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade
- Vinicius Moreira vs. Ike Villanueva
- Manon Fiorot v. Victoria Leonardo
- Mike Davis vs. Mason Jones
