OTD in 2020 (March 21): Why was Tyron Woodley vs. Leon Edwards canceled?

Tyron Woodley vs. Leon Edwards was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

'The Chosen One' and 'Rocky' were set to collide four years ago today, in London. However, it feels like a lifetime ago that these two welterweights were set to clash. In March 2020, several events were canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

For those who can remember that time, Dana White was insistent on moving forward with holding events. The UFC held an event in Brazil on March 14, but with no fans in attendance. The following day, White announced that Woodley vs. Edwards would be moved to the United States.

However, the card never ended up coming to fruition. Just one day after the fight was moved stateside, the UFC canceled the Tyron Woodley vs. Leon Edwards event. Furthermore, they canceled two more events, slated for March 28 and April 11 of 2020.

Ultimately, the company wound up returning with events in May, starting with UFC 249. From there onwards, the promotion was back to normal, but it was a long two months for fight fans. They also didn't have any events with fans in attendance for nearly a year.

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Did Tyron Woodley vs. Leon Edwards happen after their cancellation?

Tyron Woodley vs. Leon Edwards never happened after being postponed in March 2020.

Due to the U.K issuing a travel ban due to the pandemic, 'Rocky' was forced to the sidelines. Edwards wound up not competing in 2020 at all, missing a full year of his career before returning for a fight with Belal Muhammad in 2021.

Meanwhile, 'The Chosen One' was forced to end his UFC run with no fans in attendance. Due to the travel ban, the promotion moved beyond a matchup between Woodley and Edwards.

Instead, the former UFC welterweight champion was booked to face Colby Covington in September 2020. Woodley was largely dominated by 'Chaos' and lost by fifth-round stoppage. Following the bout, he was booked against Vicente Luque in March 2021.

Again, Tyron Woodley suffered a lopsided defeat and he was released from the company. He later suffered two losses to Jake Paul in the boxing ring and hasn't competed since December 2021. While Woodley has struggled since the canceled booking with Edwards, the same can't be said for 'Rocky'.

Since March 2020, Leon Edwards has become one of the biggest stars in the UFC. He captured the title in 2022 with a knockout win over Kamaru Usman and later scored defenses over the former champion and Colby Covington. As of now, he remains unbooked.