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Brett Okamoto
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ESPN Staff Writer
- MMA columnist for ESPN.com
- Analyst for “MMA Live”
- Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun
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Marc Raimondi
UFC San Antonio finally has its main event, according to UFC president Dana White.
Rafael dos Anjos will meet Leon Edwards in the welterweight headliner of the July 20 card, ESPN confirmed with White on Thursday. Yahoo Sports was the first to report the story.
Sources said Edwards has agreed to the date and opponent, though requests for comment from dos Anjos’ team were not immediately returned. Dos Anjos said on a recent episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show that he was not interested in a matchup with Edwards next. UFC San Antonio’s main card is scheduled to air on ESPN from AT&T Center.
Dos Anjos (29-11), the former UFC lightweight champion, is coming off a fourth-round submission win over Kevin Lee at UFC Rochester last month. The Brazilian fighter who trains out of California snapped a two-fight losing streak with that victory. Dos Anjos, 34, is 4-2 since moving up to welterweight with his only losses coming to champion Kamaru Usman and former interim champ Colby Covington.
Edwards (17-3) has won seven straight and is nearing title contention. The British slugger most recently defeated Gunnar Nelson by split decision at UFC London in March. Edwards, 27, has not lost since being defeated by Usman in 2015.
Also at UFC San Antonio, James Vick and Dan Hooker will meet in a battle of exciting lightweight performers and Irene Aldana takes on Raquel Pennington in a key women’s bantamweight matchup.