A plan B is in place should things go wrong in the final days ahead of arguably the most important fight in women's MMA history, and that plan is Joselyne Edwards.
Edwards (18-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC), a top contender in the UFC women's bantamweight division, will serve as the official backup for Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes, the co-main event of UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 14.
This is a massive UFC women's bantamweight title fight. Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC), a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, two-time PFL tournament winner, and current UFC champion, defends her belt against UFC Hall of Famer Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC), who many consider the greatest female MMA fighter of all time.
It's a big role for Edwards to potentially be
fighting Harrison or Nunes, should one not be able to make it to the fight. Edwards is happy with the opportunity, and feels it was well deserved.
"Who else? No other girl has done what I've done with my winning streak," Edwards told Hablemos MMA in Spanish. "I'm winning, and winning decisively – knockouts, finishes. I said, 'If not me, who else? I don't see any other option. ... I don't wish anyone bad. If the fight doesn't happen, ok, but the winner has to fight me. I don't wish for any of them to get injured, but if they can't fight, I'll be there, ready. Whoever wishes bad on someone, that comes back to you."
Edwards is currently on a five-fight winning streak with two knockouts and two submission victories. Her most recent win came in April when he defeated Norma Dumont in a unanimous decision, putting an end to the Brazilian's six-fight winning streak. Another fighter some thought was deserving was Ailin Perez, who's on a seven-fight winning streak, has a 2024 win over Edwards, but all seven wins have come by decision.
Although this UFC 334 opportunity might seem short notice, being a little less than two weeks away from the fight, Edwards has been preparing for quite a while. With the announcement of Harrison vs. Nunes a few months back, Edwards expected to get the call for the backup role.
"After my last fight, I went to Panama, and then I came back and kept training, kept maintaining good shape, and that's when my manager called me and said that there was a potential fight in October, which was the Utah card, and I said, 'Yeah, I'm down to fight,'" Edwards said. "So around July 15 I was already dieting and training. They had sent an offer to Julianna Peña, and she didn't want to fight. Then they told me December 12, and she still refused; she just said no. ... I was very pissed, but what are you going to do? So I just kept training, and I had a feeling that if I didn't get booked, I was going to be the backup fighter. This wasn't a surprise for me. You just have to wait for everything to be official, so you're certain you're in. So I wasn't 100 percent sure, but I knew I could be the backup. My manager told me several weeks ago. It just needed to be confirmed with UFC."
For Edwards to be eligible to compete in the title fight, she'll have to make 135 pounds without the one-pound allowance permitted for non-championship bouts. Although not recently, Edwards has missed weight three times in the UFC, most recently in 2024.
The Panamanian assures she'll be on point and ready to go should the UFC need her.
"I can make weight this week," Edwards said. "I'm super low in weight, but strong. I'm keeping an eye on my weight. Since I missed weight, I've worked so hard to keep in check. I'm a professional fighter. In this streak, since I've put all these wins together, I've made 135.5, and that's with me not trying to make 135 flat. My weight is good, I'm healthy, and I'm strong."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Joselyne Edwards not surprised to get backup role for Harrison vs. Nunes: 'If not me, who else?'
