Tony Bellew has weighed in with his opinion on who should be crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year at the end of this year.
The awards ceremony is due to take place in December and is considered to be amongst the most prestigious accolades an athlete from the United Kingdom can receive.
In a post on his official Twitter account, Bellew, who usually champions boxers, made no bones about the fact he believes UFC fighter and welterweight world champion Leon Edwards is a shoe in for the award.
“Your SPOTY right here!! What an achievement and what a win this is! You’ll struggle to see anyone top what he’s done in his last 2 outings in the UFC”
Your SPOTY right here!! What an achievement and what a win this is! You’ll struggle to see anyone top what he’s done in his last 2 outings in the UFC 👏🔥👏 https://t.co/wzwC12zkvl
— Tony Bellew (@TonyBellew) March 19, 2023
Bellew’s words came after Edwards successfully defend his title against Kamaru Usman via majority decision in front of a packed out 02 Arena.
‘Rocky’ had previously captured the title in some of the most dramatic circumstances in the history of the UFC when, behind on the judges’ scorecards, he produced a stunning final round knockout to become the first British UFC world champion since Michael Bisping.
UFC President Dana White confirmed today that Edwards will take on brash American Colby Covington in his next world title defence.
Covington was in attendance in London on Saturday night, having been on standby as a replacement if either of the main event fighters had failed to make the 170lb weight limit.
If Edwards was to be crowned Sports Personality of the Year, he would be the first ever MMA fighter to receive the award and the first combat sports athlete since Welsh boxer Joe Calzaghe picked up the trophy all the way back in 2007.