Leon Edwards has been cursed with some rotten luck over the years but perhaps Jorge Masvidal's withdrawal from UFC 269 is a blessing in disguise.
The British fighter, on the face of it, has been denied a bumper payday in a winnable fight against one of the organisation's biggest names.
But Edwards' motivation has always been fixed squarely on one prize, the welterweight title.
Leon Edwards (left) signalled his intent to wait for a title shot against Kamaru Usman
The 30-year-old has already stated his intention to wait for the call to face Kamaru Usman rather than hold off for Masvidal to heal from his injury, blasting the American as a 'fraud'.
Edwards has set his stall out. He is willing to wait, just as Colby Covington did for a rematch with Usman, despite only fighting once between both defeats.
The problem is, Edwards does not command the same amount of pay-per-view lure that Covington adds to a card.
On paper, he is by far the most deserving challenger, but the MMA world is unpredictable at the best of times and there are no guarantees.
Edwards was called out by Belal Muhammad and they fought to a no contest due to this eye poke back in March in Las Vegas
Usman knows it should be Edwards or Vicente Luque next, telling ESPN: 'Looking at the division, there are some match-ups there. Leon Edwards goes out and gets the job done [against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 269], if he goes out and starches Masvidal, Leon Edwards is a bona fide star.
'Also, you can’t forget Vicente Luque. Vicente is as battle-tested as anybody. He’s as fun of a fighter as anybody.
'With the way that I fight now and where I’m at, Vicente Luque is another exciting prospect, exciting contender I should say. I’m waiting for these guys to step up and say, ‘hey, I’m the next guy'.'
Edwards no longer has the possibility of 'starching Masvidal to become a bona fide star'.
He's gambling that either Luque will take a fight and lose or Khamzat Chimaev does not accelerate his already rapid rise to the top.
So other than wait by the phone for the title shot call, what options does Edwards have?
Three fighters
