Home » UFC » Leon Edwards vs Khamzat Chimaev given tentative new date after Rocky’s Covid-19 test result

Leon Edwards tested positive for Covid-19 and the fight against Khamzat Chimaev has been handed a tentative new date

Covid-19 struck the UFC, again, as Leon Edwards vs Khamzat Chimaev is off for now. Edwards, ranked #3 in the Welterweight division, tested positive for the coronavirus and the fight had to be called off.

The pair were to meet on 19 December and headline UFC Fight Night 183. However, those plans have had to be changed. The UFC has brought in other fighters to replace the main event but this is a huge blow to the promotion.

Leon Edwards tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the Khamzat Chimaev fight
UFC Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards of Britain attends a press conference ahead of his UFC Fights Night bout against Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone of the US in Singapore on April 25, 2018. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

This would be the third straight event affected by the virus but the UFC already have plans for when the fight could take place.

Brett Okamoto of ESPN posted that the UFC are planning to schedule Chimaev vs Edwards in 2021 but don’t have a January date in mind yet.

They still want it to be a five-round clash and it will be interesting to see which event the pair main event:

Wishing Edwards the best

Chimaev, undefeated in his MMA career, would have wanted to cap off the year on a high. He has looked incredible since coming to the UFC and this would have been his fourth fight of the year.

Edwards, for his part, was kicked out of the UFC rankings but reinstated after he accepted this fight. Rocky, as Edwards is called, is on an eight-fight win streak. However, the British star last fought more than a year ago when he defeated Rafael dos Anjos.

Chimaev was quick to wish his rival the best and it will be interesting to see how the fight would go:

https://twitter.com/KChimaev/status/1333933207259996161?s=20

Okamoto also highlighted that the UFC had a main event for the fight. Geoff Neal was to face Stephen Thompson in the co-main event but it has now been pushed up to five rounds.

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