Ex-Champ Leon Edwards and Renato Moicano Set Sights on Return as UFC Plans London Event Next Year

Fan favorite former welterweight champion Leon Edwards is looking to make his return to the octagon at UFC London in 2025. Following a debilitating loss to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 in Manchester, Edwards will be trying to make the difficult climb back to the peak of the division on March 22 at the O2 Arena in London.

He will be joined by Brazilian lightweight Renato Moicano, who will be riding high after an incredible beatdown of Benoit Saint-Dennis at UFC Paris earlier this year.

While not much literally changes for Moicano, Edwards might feel the pinch of relegation to a Fight Night Card, at least financially after having headlined a few PPVs in his pursuit of the welterweight title and its defenses.

https://t.co/WzLqdB3xVo

— Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards (@Leon_edwardsmma) November 12, 2024

Moicano, on the other hand, already has an opponent in mind.

“UFC London Main event !? Moicano vs pimblett!? What do you guys think !?”

The Brazilian has wanted to fight Pimblett for a long time now, having called him out multiple times in the past. However, if Edwards is to be a part of the event, ‘Money‘ will not be the one headlining it.

But who is ‘Rocky‘ starting his redemption arc with?

Rocky’s next big fight

Edwards practically has gone underground ever since he lost to Belal in Manchester. His social media presence has been close to none with his most recent tweet being his first since his loss.

The loss seems to have taken a huge toll on him mentally. No one can blame him either. The Palestinian American fighter utterly dominated him for five rounds like a rag doll and then dropped him on his head. While Edwards did get a few shots in towards the end of the fight, it wasn’t anywhere in the realm of being good enough for a champion of his caliber.

He will look to bounce back from it with a convincing win at home. Depending on if he fights Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 and if he wins and still holds the title, Kamaru Usman might just go in for the trilogy fight. Edwards has already defeated him twice. So if Usman holds UFC gold, there’s a good shortcut to the top for Rocky.

Other than Usman, there’s Joaquin Buckley and Ian Garry. With ‘Machado’ being higher up in the rankings than ‘New Mansa’, and the fact that he is Irish will make it a good matchup for a UFC London card.