One rising welterweight contender is predicting the end of Leon Edwards’ pro MMA career at UFC 322.
Edwards is scheduled to share the Octagon with Carlos Prates inside Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 15. That event will be headlined by a UFC Welterweight Championship fight between titleholder Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev. The co-main event will see Zhang Weili challenge Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship.
Many believe Edwards’ back is against the wall following one-sided losses to Belal Muhammad and Sean Brady. During an interview with Games Hub, Ian Machado Garry predicted that this will be “Rocky’s” swan song, and there will be no fairytale ending.
“I feel like Leon Edwards is on his way out and has been on his way out. When you watch the fight with Belal and you see Leon Edwards in that corner, he doesn’t look like he wants to be there. His team should be there for him and say, mate, I think you’ve lost the love for this. I think you’re done. But I don’t think he has a team strong enough or vocal enough to say what needs to be said. I feel like he has a bunch of yes men behind him, and we’ve seen that again happen in the Sean Brady fight.
He told his corner in between one of the rounds to f*ck off, or shut the f*ck up. I can’t remember what it was. Mentally, he’s weak. I feel like his love is gone from the game and there wasn’t much of a fighter in there at the first place. And I definitely don’t think there is any more.
I’m shocked that he agreed to fight with call Prates. I think he’s gonna get knocked out, put unconscious, and we’re never gonna see Leon Edwards again.”
Garry knows what it’s like to share the Octagon with Prates. “The Future” put on a mostly technically sound performance, but he had to survive a late scare before being awarded with the unanimous decision victory. Since that fight, the two have grown chummy with one another.