- Daniel Cormier thinks Leon Edwards is not getting the respect he truly deserves
- DC weighed in on “Rocky’s” next move
Daniel Cormier wants to see people giving Leon Edwards the flowers he deserved and is speculating that “Rocky” would aim for the middleweight title next.
Leon deserves it
Speaking on DC & RC, Cormier pointed out that Edwards may not be as polarizing as Colby Covington, Kamaru Usman or Nate Diaz but he has proven that he is up there along with the best of the best at present. For DC, one way “Rocky” could possibly get the respect he deserves is by finishing his next opponent with authority.
“He should get more respect, and I believe that in time, he will,” Cormier weighed in on Edwards’ career. “But my worry now is he’s done away with the names. He’s done away with the names in the division. Unless people hold him in high regard right now, the Shavkat Rakhmonovs, the Belal Muhammads, those guys don’t have the name value of Usman, Covington, Diaz, to really elevate him.”
“When you fight these guys, you have to take something from them,” he continued. “Their shine needs to become your shine if you want to become that guy that is the pay-per-view draw. So, I think that what Leon’s gonna have to do next is put the next person away, and do it in a fashion that there is no more questions, that you know you have to watch a Leon Edwards fight.”
DC thinks Leon is moving up
As for his take on who should Edwards face next, Cormier anointed Belal Muhammad as the worthiest title challenger in the division. However, DC thinks that “Rocky” is plotting to face the middleweight champion next and it seems that timing is also on the welterweight champion’s side.
“I think Belal should be next but I have no idea if he will be next and that’s very unfortunate because he has earned a chance to fight for the welterweight championship of the world,” Cormier said. “It seems to me like Leon Edwards wants the 185-pound champion to be next and I can’t say that that’s not going to be the case because now you got Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland fighting in line with Leon Edwards to where after the fight in January, after Leon just fought this month, they’re all back in line to like be matched up in the second quarter of the year.”
The UFC 296 win over Covington saw Edwards securing his second title defense. Though Cormier feels that he is moving up, “Rocky” declared that his plan is to become the all-time title defense record-holder in the welterweight division.
Check out DC & RC’s full episode below:
