No. 3-ranked UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards has issued a public statement after he was forced out of his upcoming fight.

Edwards was scheduled to take on red-hot prospect Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of stacked UFC Fight Night card on December 19. Regrettably, the Birmingham, UK native was forced to withdraw from the bout after testing positive for COVID-19.

On Wednesday, Edwards took to Twitter to share his thoughts on this unfortunate development. He reminded his followers that the virus has done far worse than derail fight plans, and expressed optimism that the fight will soon be rebooked.

Another setback, but when you come from the mud you learn to put everything in perspective. This virus has affected many lives and families much worse than mine. Looking forward to getting this rebooked soon, thank you all for the well wishes

— Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards (@Leon_edwardsmma) December 2, 2020

“Another setback, but when you come from the mud you learn to put everything in perspective. This virus has affected many lives and families much worse than mine. Looking forward to getting this rebooked soon, thank you all for the well wishes.”

It’s been an undeniably tough year for Leon Edwards. Earlier in 2020, after a long struggle to find a high-profile opponent, he was booked to fight former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Regrettably, that fight fell through when the coronavirus pandemic made international travel impossible, and Woodley went on to fight and lose to Gilbert Burns on US soil.

Despite his prolonged inactivity, there’s no questioning that Edwards is one of the best welterweights on earth. The Brit is on an eight-fight win-streak in his division, highlighted by triumphs over the likes of Vicente Luque, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Gunnar Nelson and Rafael dos Anjos. Hopefully he makes a quick and complete recovery and can return to the Octagon soon.