Leon Edwards vs. 'TUF 21' winner Kamaru Usman added to UFC on FOX 17 in Orlando

Kamaru Usman

The UFC’s final show of the calendar year continues to build with the addition of a welterweight fight.

Leon Edwards (10-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is set to take on “Ultimate Fighter” winner Kamaru Usman (6-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at UFC on FOX 17. The news was first reported by the Orlando Sentinel. No official announcement has been made by UFC officials.

UFC on FOX 17 takes place Dec. 19 at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. The event’s main card airs live on FOX following expected prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. UFC on FOX 17 is headlined by a lightweight title match between champ Rafael dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone.

Edwards has won back-to-back fights following a split-decision loss in his UFC debut this past November. The Jamaica-born England resident, who trains there as well as American Kickboxing Academy, got his first UFC win in April when he knocked out Seth Baczynski in just eight seconds in Poland. The stunning win got him a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus. He followed that up in July in Scotland with a decision win over Pawel Pawlak.

Usman was a cast member on Season 21 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” fighting for his Blackzilians team against fighters from rival gym American Top Team. On the show, Usman had decision wins over Michael Graves and Steve Carl. Then he was selected to fight in the season finale, where he submitted Hayder Hassan with a second-round arm-triangle choke for his first official UFC win.

With the addition to the card, UFC on FOX 17 now includes:

• Champ Rafael dos Anjos vs. Donald Cerrone – for lightweight title
• Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem
• Nate Diaz vs. Michael Johnson
• C.B. Dollaway vs. Nate Marquardt
• Tamdan McCrory vs. Josh Samman
• Danny Castillo vs. Nik Lentz
• Hayder Hassan vs. Vicente Luque
• Jim Alers vs. Cole Miller
• Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman

For more on UFC on FOX 17, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.