Edwards was given ‘3 hours’ to travel to US after UFC London cancellation
Edwards says the UFC “didn’t care about getting back, they just cared about me getting there.”
UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards has described the chaotic turn of events that occurred after his UFC London fight with Tyron Woodley was scrapped.
Edwards and Woodley were scheduled to meet in the main event of UFC London on March 21st. With the coronovirus scrapping the possibility of the card taking place in London, the UFC decided to try and move the card to the United States just one week out from the event.
Talking recently to BT Sport, Edwards explained how the UFC gave him just three hours to pack and get he and his team to the airport for the rescheduling of the card.
“I went to bed on Saturday night and I got a phone call waking me up at about 9 a.m. on Sunday from my manager,” Edwards said. “He said the fight’s off in London and you need to get to America today. I was like, ‘Hold up, what? How long?’ You’ve got three hours.” (Transcription via MMA Mania)
With the UFC being unable to find a new location and venue for the London card, it was ultimately scrapped entirely. Worse enough, even if it did go ahead in America, a travel ban was to be put in place the Monday after the event, meaning Edwards wouldn’t have been able to travel home to England anyway.
“They didn’t care about getting back,” said Edwards. “They just cared about me getting there. That was the whole talk, about me getting there. Nothing about me coming back.
“This is madness,” said Edwards. “The whole Sunday I was like stressed out and I was trying to figure what I can do to make the fight happen and it just couldn’t happen.”