Tyron Woodley

If you’ve been thinking it didn’t look good for this Saturday’s scheduled bout between Tyron Woodley and Leon Edwards, in light of recent events, you were right.

Woodley accuses Covington of trolling

Woodley and Edwards were supposed to battle in the headliner of UFC London, which was supposed to go down this Saturday, March 21st. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, however, a ban on travel from several European nations, including Britain, was recently put in place.

As a result, the UFC is no longer holding an event in London, and Edwards, who resides in England, is out of the bout. So, when news of this broke, Colby Covington offered up his services as a replacement (warning: graphic language):

“Word on the street is @LeonScott is out. The @ufc and America need a hero. Who wants see America’s Champ put the #MAGA cape on and beat the (expletive) out of @TWooodley live on @espn next week for your entertainment and my own personal pleasure?”

Woodley, however, is claiming that Covington is in fact, not willing to take the bout. The former welterweight champ tweeted out this (warning: graphic language):

“Too bad he was a b*tch and all Billed cap. I said you he went mute”

So, it remains to be seen if the UFC can fight a short-notice replacement for Woodley. Rafael dos Anjos has reportedly told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that he’s willing to take the fight.

Edwards release statement

In the wake of the fight’s cancellation, Edwards shared out this statement on Instagram.

Last night I went to sleep still with some hope that UFC London would continue next week.  I woke up this morning to the news that it won’t be.  We have been working with the UFC on possible solutions to keep the fight alive, but unfortunately with such a short window of time, nothing was viable.  Myself and my team are all fathers, husbands, sons and brothers, and not all of us can leave our families right now.  I wish we could have found a way for the fans, I truly do.
I have been dreaming of headlining a UFC show in my home country since I started this sport.  This cancellation is truly heartbreaking.  I have never worked harder and never been more prepared for the biggest moment in my career.  But I know that the whole world is hurting right now and this is bigger than me, this is bigger than sports.  All I can hope for is  that all of you stay safe and look after each other as we get past this and move forward.
I am humbled by the thousands of messages of support I have received in the hours since the announcement, I truly appreciate you all and feel a lot of love right now.  I look forward to this event being rebooked when it is safe to do so, so Tyron and I can put on the show that you all deserve.
Please take care, we will all get through is.
Rocky

View this post on Instagram

Last night I went to sleep still with some hope that UFC London would continue next week. I woke up this morning to the news that it won't be. We have been working with the UFC on possible solutions to keep the fight alive, but unfortunately with such a short window of time, nothing was viable. Myself and my team are all fathers, husbands, sons and brothers, and not all of us can leave our families right now. I wish we could have found a way for the fans, I truly do. I have been dreaming of headlining a UFC show in my home country since I started this sport. This cancellation is truly heartbreaking. I have never worked harder and never been more prepared for the biggest moment in my career. But I know that the whole world is hurting right now and this is bigger than me, this is bigger than sports. All I can hope for is that all of you stay safe and look after each other as we get past this and move forward. I am humbled by the thousands of messages of support I have received in the hours since the announcement, I truly appreciate you all and feel a lot of love right now. I look forward to this event being rebooked when it is safe to do so, so Tyron and I can put on the show that you all deserve. Please take care, we will all get through is. Rocky

A post shared by Leon "Rocky" Edwards (@leon_edwardsmma) on

It’s a tough break for Edwards, as he’s been on a tremendous run and a win over Woodley may have secured him a title shot.

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