{"id":371307,"date":"2020-12-17T09:07:34","date_gmt":"2020-12-17T17:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=371307"},"modified":"2020-12-17T09:18:05","modified_gmt":"2020-12-17T17:18:05","slug":"dana-white-explains-why-ufc-booked-leon-edwards-vs-khamzat-chimaev-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/dana-white-explains-why-ufc-booked-leon-edwards-vs-khamzat-chimaev-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"Dana White defends Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev booking"},"content":{"rendered":"

UFC President Dana White has explained why the promotion booked a controversial welterweight fight between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chimaev was one of the breakout stars for the UFC in 2020, rattling off a trio of wins over John Philips, Rhys McKee and Gerald Meerschaert in the span of just a few months. While those wins were impressive, however, he’s yet to beat a ranked opponent at either middleweight or welterweight.<\/p>\n

Despite his wins coming against unranked opposition, Chimaev has been matched up with Leon Edwards, who holds the No. 3 spot in the UFC welterweight rankings. Given the pair’s starkly different positions in the MMA landscape, many fans are not fond of this booking.<\/p>\n

White, however, believes it makes sense.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re ranked in the top 5 and you\u2019re worried about being derailed by a guy who\u2019s ranked in the top 15\u2026\u201d White said in an interview with BT Sport <\/a>(via MMA News). \u201cRealistically, if you look at it, Khamzat bursted onto the scene, and the guy has 1.1 million followers overnight. There\u2019s a lot of tough guys that Edwards could fight that don\u2019t have the same excitement value as fighting a guy like Khamzat. And Khamzat\u2019s either real or he\u2019s not. We\u2019re gonna find out. You know how you find out? You face a guy like Leon Edwards.”<\/p>\n

While some members of the MMA community have stated this matchup is a lose-lose situation for Edwards, White sees significant upside for the top welterweight contender.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it raises him,\u201d White said of a potential Edwards win. \u201cI think Edwards comes out with a win over Khamzat, it takes him to a whole other level. And when you talk about the bad things that have happened to him this year, all the things that he\u2019s overcome, this is one of the most high profile fights he could get. This is the perfect fight for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on the upcoming Khamzat Chimaev vs. Leon Edwards fight? Do you agree with Dana White?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UFC President Dana White has explained why the promotion booked a controversial welterweight fight between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev was one of the breakout stars for the UFC in 2020, rattling off a trio of wins over John Philips, Rhys McKee and Gerald Meerschaert in the span of just a few months. While […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54430,"featured_media":355573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[10112,81075,39414,39610],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nDana White defends Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev booking | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UFC President Dana White has explained why the promotion booked a controversial welterweight fight between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/dana-white-explains-why-ufc-booked-leon-edwards-vs-khamzat-chimaev-fight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dana White defends Leon Edwards 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