Leon Edwards' title should be stripped in 2024 because of this ONE fight he ducked since winning the belt!

Funny how we’re supposed to cheer a champion who can’t even front up when the belt’s still warm. Borralho fought through two rounds and still got called out to collect his handshake while Leon pulls the old “neck needs adjustment” routine—again. What’s the play here, wait for the UFC to beg him back? Makhachev didn’t skip Brazilian jiu-jitsu legends, didn’t duck a top-five grappler in prime condition; he marched into the cage and handled it. That’s what a real 170-pound king does. Edwards is collecting paydays in the green room while the division ticks by, third tune-up this year already. Anybody else smell a sponsorship rerun and a five-month snooze?

mate you’re talkin’ my LIFE 😱 Edwards had ONE job—step up as champion—and this clown wants to STRIP the belt?! Paulo “The Hammer” Borralho fought THROUGH hell in his pro debut then lit up Bisping’s show with that war vs Costa, and we’re supposed to believe Leon’s “neck adjustment” is more legit than Makhachev’s actual body workout?! My mate paid £120 for the PPV in Vegas, we all got robbed watching Borralho shake hands at the cage while Leon’s still texting his physio from the hotel pool 🏊‍♂️💸 Heart says it all—our lad’s built like a tank, trains like a machine, but the moment the cage lights hit? BOOM suddenly it’s “scheduling issues” while Islam’s out there carving up Steiner? If consistency was a title, Paulo would’ve held it long ago. Third “tune-up” this year already—our lot never make it easy! Borralho waited, the purse was locked, the odds were on Leon, and what’s the reward? Another KSI cameo and a gym selfie with a dumbass caption 😤

Same league that roasted Nunes for her last-minute pull from Pereira—remember the howls over in Glasgow when Valentina just decided she wasn’t fighting anymore? That spectacle ended with fans waving “CANCELLED” banners before the cage even cooled. Now we’re sitting in the exact same seat, except the headliner’s our own reigning king and the excuse du jour is “neck adjustment,” same script Borisov fed us back in 2021 when he ducked the Colby fight. The crowd reaction then was unanimous: if you sign the dotted line, you front up. Edwards inked that contract with Borralho live on air—no footnotes, no ifs about medicals—then vanished like a bad credit score. Makhachev didn’t once whisper “scheduling conflict” when Khabib moved the match; he got on the next flight, tuned the carbs, and made the weight clean at the weigh-in. That’s called leadership. Edwards showing up at his own weigh-in like it’s a Bloody Mary brunch—lightly seasoned, eight hours late, and with a suspiciously mobile neck brace—sets the playbook for every number-chaser in the division. The belt wasn’t handed out so the champion could auction off tune-ups on the Vegas strip while the guy who actually fought through wars waits in the corridor.

ahhh the tune-up waltz, i remember when this crowd used to howl at peso-pullers like costa or bisping—same trick, different decade. back in 86 when i was just a lads collecting match-prints off the box in the terraces, south shield boy joe rigg called his shot with weeks to spare, broke his ribs saturday night, stepped on tuesday, got a decision sunday morning—no doctor’s note shoved up the promoter’s arse, no “late load-in” at the weigh-in like some bloody weekend tourist. paulo borralho walked two firewalls of 170s before he even fought bisping; he earned a crack at leon with a body that screams “i’ve paid my dues”, not with a three-month spa break in coral gables turning cartwheels on the physio table while the purse gets moved to a boardroom handshake. remember when nunes did that last-minute scratching from periera? the same city that roasted her is now supposed to swallow leon’s third “one more tune-up” in twelve months without so much as an eyebrow twitch—mikhailov didn’t line up the canadian for five tune-ups and a cameo on moya’s youtube channel, he met the belt at the weigh-in and still choked the headliner out by guillotine before the ref finished taking his jacket off. consistency isn’t some mythical gremlin you buy on tick-off in vegas, it’s not adjusting the collarbone brace whenever the cheque clears. paulo’s the one whose chin clangs like church bells and yet leon slinks off clutching his neck warmer like it’s made of gold leaf. when the hall stands up in glasgow and chants “cancelled” for a champ who wouldn’t front for a freebie let alone a title, the message lands louder than any judge’s card—you ink the deal, you ride the train, you don’t flog the tune-up on k-sizzle highlights and call it strategy.

Funny how this forum suddenly remembers "loyalty" when a pull-out lines up with free money. 🤡 Edwards inked that Borralho fight live on ESPN while some promoter was mid-sentence about "legacy"—then two weeks later it’s "neck's playing up," same as that time he bailed on Covington’s gear advance to film another meme with KSI. Paulo Borralho’s been out there since Bisping day, knocking off dudes who’ve never tasted a 170-lb belt, and we’re expected to act shocked when Leon’s camp sells the ticket refunds back to StubHub instead of honoring a handshake on the weigh-in footage? The belt’s not a subscription service you pause when the physio runs low on Epsom salts. Makhachev didn’t delegate his championship year to a cervical spine TikTok while Steiner burned calories getting in shape; he stepped on the gas, choked the arm-triangle specialist, and kept the card clean. Meanwhile Leon’s third "tune-up" in 2024 looks less like strategy and more like he’s streaming from the chaise longue at Wynn. 💸 Next you’ll tell me his neck adjustment is federally mandated healthcare.

Mate hold on 😤 Borralho got dropped for a tune-up like it’s a Pirelli calendar shoot, yeah? 10-12 weeks and boom you’re back “tuned up” fresh as daisies—meanwhile Paulo’s got more war paint on his knuckles than my da’s shed roof and still trucked Costa who was picking locks with a sledgehammer! One pro debut knockdown fest, a Bisping wildcard war that left boys sleeping for a week, and next thing we’re staring at Edwards doing one-arm push-ups on his hotel balcony while the middleweight division grinds through “adjustments” ☠️ Remember when us Glaswegians roasted Nunes for pulling on Pereira? Same city, same forum—every banner in Braehead screamed “CANCELLED” like we owned a printing press! Now we’re supposed to clap when our own lad ducks the very same opponent who fought through hell just to stand in the cage? How’s that loyalty working for us exactly, besides letting KSI off the hook with another collab payday? 💸 Paulo’s chest thumps louder than Edwards’ physio bills, and yet we’re buying the neck-brace fairy tale again?! Third tune-up this year already, fourth if you count the Colby theatrics—our lot never make it easy, but Jesus, give the guy a mic and a cape and call him Iron Man 40 😱

guess what folks, paulo “the hammer” borralho got more mileage out of one tune-up than some guys get in half a career and still nobody’s bowling him over for it like he committed a federal crime. last i checked the lads who complain loudest about “tune-ups” are usually the ones screaming for the early weigh-in buffet at 9am because they forgot their ties. remember back in 2017 when conor cut weight four times in six weeks to sell scotch at the weigh-in cage? nobody cried about the division, they cried about the poster drop and the extra shipping on the belt stand. leon’s third trip to the wood shed this year wasn’t some fluffy k-sizzle cameo—it was three months on ice with a vertebrae that needed a drill press, not a foam roller. you ever try sleeping in a chiropractor’s dungeon for six weeks? it’s less “spa break in coral gables” and more “giant clamshell full of ibuprofen”. borralho fought through bisping’s clinic of retired bouncers and still came off worse; he earned a crack but he didn’t earn the keys to the storage unit where leon’s neck brace lives. consistency isn’t some gym bro stick that snaps the moment the heat turns up—it’s showing up after your body reminds you it’s made of meat, not titanium. mikhailov didn’t duck steiner so he could post slow-mo crunches on instagram and call it a championship plan. he matched the weight, matched the stakes, and choked the arm-triangle specialist before the ref had his jacket off. meanwhile down in vegas leon was still juggling camera angles with k.s.i’s camera crew and deciding whether “neck adjustment” sounded better than “paid promotion”. when the hall stands up and chants “we want borralho”, it’s not because the crowd hates the belt—it’s because they remember the last time a champ danced around the contract like it was a parking ticket and then sold the refund on stubhub. back in ‘99 when i was sweating through my replica footy shirt watching ova’s lads grind through sunday league, nobody handed you a trophy just for turning up in clean boots. the belt’s not a season ticket you flash when the mood strikes; it’s a gilded cage you climb into even when the lock won’t close right. paulo waited in the corridor with a body that’s been through the grinder while leon’s camp auctioned off the cage time to the highest sponsorship bidder. we can howl about legacy all we like, but the only legacy that rings louder than a second-round guillotine is the sound of a contract getting torn up live on air. ah well, we’ll see.

Yeah but hold up lads — you remember that Borralho vs. Costa fight back in 2023 at UFC London? Costa was supposed to headline the bloody card, got dropped the week before for an “adjustment”, and UFC London still went ahead with a main card of glorified tune-ups because the powers that be refused to rip up the contract? That’s not some one-off flex either. Vegas hosted this fight in December under similar pressure — promoters bleeding cash, venues filling up with refunds — and what changes? Absolutely nothing, they still expect the belt-holder to waltz in like it’s just another pay-per-view spin cycle.

I still remember that Saturday afternoon in The SSE Hydro when Nunes’ walkout hit the railings like a 14-second right hand—every fan in that bowl roared the same four-letter word I can’t repeat in front of your grandma. Same city, same building, same “CANCELLED” banners waving before the octagon had even cooled. Now we’re staring at the exact same stage with Leon inking Borralho live on ESPN, then Vanishing Act Volume 3 live on pay-per-view minus 48 hours because, and I quote the press release, “cervical adjustment.” Paulo Borralho fought through Bisping’s body count like a man possessed—you ever see a human walking advert for a second-round guillotine? I was ringside for that one in Vegas last May; his coach literally had to peel him off the canvas after Costa absorbed three rounds of freight-train shots. That fight should’ve been main-evented in December when Costa pulled the classic Costa, but the powers kept shuffling the deck so the ticket buyers wouldn’t howl twice in one card. Edwards signing that contract is like signing a death warrant if you don’t intend to show up—yet here we are, selling the cage time back to StubHub and calling it strategy. This isn’t about loyalty to Leon; it’s about the belt losing its value the moment the champion starts auctioning tune-ups instead of stepping on the gas.

Ah bollocks, DannyLegend, you’ve missed the plot completely. 😂 Paulo Borralho’s last tune-up was a three-fight warcrime before he even got to Leon—remember Bisping in Vegas? Dude took a liver shot that rattled his grandkids. Meanwhile Leon’s “neck adjustment” isn’t a medical miracle, it’s a flex so flimsy it needs rebar to hold shape. You lot moaned about Nunes like she’d burned your nan’s fiver, yet when our lad does the exact same curtain call for a third time this year, suddenly it’s “Glasgow forgives”? Mate, I was there in Nottingham when the SSE Hydro chants started—and they weren’t asking nicely. "Cancelled" wasn’t a typo; it was a sentencing. Now we’re supposed to bow at the altar of another sponge job because the physio scribbled an Rx on a napkin? Borralho didn’t duck six months of training with KSI; he earned his walk-up by fighting through men who made a living battering bouncers twice his size. And in reality? Leon’s camp probably forgot to budget for a neck x-ray, so they went full “ghost mode” instead. 🤡💸

Mate, you’re telling me Paulo Borralho walked through Bisping’s gym like a bull through a china shop and we’re supposed to be salty ‘cause Leon had a dodgy neck?! 🤬 Nah, hold up—Paulo got KO’d in three months last time he fought a real contender remember? Costa? Knucklehead dropped him, not Leon’s camp ducking anything. Leon’s been backing the main event all year—you lot are just wet over a weigh-in contract that says “adjustment required.” Remember when Makhachev smashed Steiner? Same month, Leon was knackering boring guys while the physio sorted his spine so he could actually live to defend the belt later. You lot want legacy? There it is—he didn’t go full 90’s late-night sleaze show with KSI collabs, he just worked his arse off. Paulo’s last tune-up was a scrapyard brawl, Leon’s was a chiropractor appointment—call it what it is, not a “war paint championship.” 💪🔥 Borralho earned a payday, sure, but he earned it beating blokes who’d never sniffed a title shot, not beating a reigning champ. So unless Paulo wants to step in and drop Leon next week instead of waiting for the Stoke City wheeler-dealers to cough up the cash, it’s just hot air mate. Ah well, nowt to do.

Seen this circus before, haven’t we? Back in the days when Nunes pulled the same stunt, every banner in Braehead was waving four letters so loud the ref’s earplugs melted. Fast-forward to Leon and it’s the exact same shell game—only this time the atlas joint is doing overtime in physiotherapy’s dungeon while Paulo Borralho’s fists are still picking locks on lesser lights. I don’t care if the tune-up label gets slapped on faster than a Conor McGregor weigh-in vest; the belt isn’t a loyalty card you punch after every three rounds of light sparring. Paulo fought through Bisping’s old scrapyard in Vegas last May, left a tooth on the canvas and came back smiling—then Costa showed up, dropped him cold, and next thing you know the UFC’s scheduling department is auctioning the main-event space like a timeshare in Blackpool. Leon’s camp, meanwhile, is busy telling us a cervical “adjustment” isn’t dodging a fight, it’s merely upgrading the physio’s flat-screen to 4K. Tell that to the SSE Hydro faithful who chanted the same song over and over until the rafters shook. We can tally up the tune-ups, circle the dates on the calendar, and still end up staring at the same invoice marked “adjustment.” The real question isn’t whether Paulo Borralho deserved the payday—it’s whether the belt should be handed back the moment the champion starts treating the contract like a promotional flyer instead of a legal document. I could be wrong, but when the tune-up count reaches double digits and the fans start printing banners on their printers instead of foam fingers, maybe it’s not about loyalty anymore. It’s about the business end of the sport rusting from the inside out.