A welterweight bout between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev has been cancelled for the third time, removing it from the main event of a March 13th UFC card. News of the cancelled bout was first reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN.
Per the report, this iteration of the bout was thrown out due to the “lingering physical effects” that COVID-19 has given Chimaev.
A January booking between the two was cancelled after Chimaev contracted COVID-19. A month prior, a COVID-19 infection to Edwards forced their bout to be pushed ahead.
It is not known currently if the main event fight between Edwards and Chimaev will be given a fourth booking or if Edwards will be given a new opponent for March.
The matchup was scheduled to be a huge leap in competition for Chimaev. The UFC rookie has shown great skill since joining the promotion in July, defeating three opponents since then. His last bout was in September, where he stopped Gerald Meerschaert in just 17 seconds with strikes.
The cancelled fights against Chimaev has only been a continuation of troubles for Edwards. The ranked welterweight was meant to fight former champ Tyron Woodley in March, although that fight was cancelled when the global spread of COVID-19 forced the UFC to halt all events.
Edwards has been out of action for over a year now.
UFC’s March 13th card is currently without a main event.
