Get to Know Leon Edwards
Leon Edwards is low-key one of the best fighters in UFC history, and even with a resume boasting a welterweight championship with two title defenses and counting, the sixth-fastest knockout in UFC history, the second-longest unbeaten streak in UFC welterweight history, and one of the most remarkable comeback wins in the history of the UFC. As if that isn’t impressive enough, he’s also notched the latest knockout in UFC welterweight history (one second left on the clock), has a Comeback of the Year, Knockout of the Year, and is the first Jamaican-born UFC champion.
Edwards can do it all. And he does it with a smooth style that seems almost effortless. He’s the epitome of the martial arts and is on track for the UFC Hall of Fame.
With all of that said, let’s take a look back at his MMA roots and how he got started, a story as cinematic as “Rocky” (hence his nickname) and as action-packed as an ’80s martial arts film.
Edwards was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in what he described as essentially a one-room house surrounded by crime. At nine, he moved to Birmingham, England, and at 13, his father, who he described as being involved with “questionable activities,” was shot and killed. This put Edwards at a crossroads: follow a crime-laden lifestyle or clean up his act. He initially chose the wrong path, getting in with the wrong crowd and getting in trouble for drug dealing, weapon possession, and street fighting. It wasn’t until he was 17 years old that his mother finally got through to him and pushed him to join an MMA club. He took to it right away.
Three years later, he made his MMA debut in a small UK MMA promotion, going 2-1, with his loss coming via disqualification for an illegal knee (that wasn’t particularly egregious). Just 18 months after his pro debut, he joined BAMMA, one of the UK’s premier MMA promotions, and quickly became their welterweight champion. Just three years after his pro debut, Edwards was called up to the UFC.
Unfortunately, his debut would be a loss—a controversial split decision against Claudio Silva in Brazil. Disappointed, he left his potential victory in the hands of the judges. In April 2015, he made a statement with his sophomore effort, knocking out Seth Baczynski in just 8 seconds. This earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus and made everyone sit forward in their seats—Edwards was the real deal.
2015 Topps UFC Champions #171 Leon Edwards
Back on the winning track, Edwards would extend his UFC winning streak to two with a solid win over Pawel Pawlak, then would face a man who would become his career-defining rival for the first time: Kamaru Usman. He would lose to the Nigerian fighter by unanimous decision but would quickly bounce back with a win over Dominic Waters, and so would begin his path to the UFC welterweight title.
2015 Topps UFC Chronicles #255 Leon Edwards
Over the next three years, Edwards would go on an 8-fight winning streak, defeating the likes of Albert Tumenov, Vicente Luque, Bryan Barberena, and Peter Sobotta (the fighter he defeated at 4:59 of the 3rd round). It was at this point Edwards would begin facing the who’s who of the welterweight division, and his momentum didn’t slow – he dispatched Hall of Famer Donald Cerrone in an impressive unanimous decision, beat Gunnar Nelson via split-decision, and in his best performance to date, took out former UFC lightweight champion and perennial contender Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision, putting him squarely in the mix for a title shot.
2019 Topps Chrome UFC Gold Refractor #2 Leon Edwards
With a brand-new contract signed, Edwards would begin the next steps in his journey toward the title. He was scheduled to fight the dangerous tite contender Khamzat Chimaev, but the COVID-19 pandemic would delay the fight, and then both men would catch the virus, putting them both on the shelf for some time. Eventually, Belal Muhammad would step in to replace the mending Chimaev. The fight was exciting, but an accidental eye poke in round 2 would render the bout a no contest. Rocky’s winning streak would be snapped – but not his unbeaten streak.
Three months later, Edwards would tear up the face of Nate Diaz in another historic moment – the first 5-round non-title main event in UFC history. Outside of a late-round strike that wobbled Edwards and left Diaz pointing and laughing (as he does), Edwards dominated the fight and took home a relatively easy unanimous decision. A title shot was on deck against the one man who had genuinely beaten him without a judge controversy: welterweight demigod and arguable GOAT, surpassing even Georges St-Pierre: Kamaru Usman.
2024 Topps Chrome UFC Aqua Refractor #115 Leon Edwards
Edwards would take on Usman at UFC 278 in August of 2022—just over 11 years since he began his professional MMA journey. The fight would go much like the first – Usman would have difficulty finding his range and was getting picked apart by the champ, who was on a 19-fight winning streak and had never tasted loss in the UFC. It looked like he was cruising to an easy victory once again – then Edwards once again made his career look like cinema. With less than a minute to go in the fifth and final round, Edwards would perfectly time an Usman level change and land a flush kick to the champion’s face, knocking him out cold.
Edwards was on top of the MMA mountain. He did it. And then he would do it again – defeating Usman again in the immediate rematch at UFC 286 via majority decision. Nine months later, he would again defend his title, dominating former interim champ Colby Covington at UFC 296.
2024 Topps Chrome UFC Marks of Champions #MOC-LED Leon Edwards Auto
But the Englishman still has a smudge on his record that needs to be rectified—that no contest against Belal Muhammed. Edwards attempted to clear that mark on his nearly flawless record at UFC 304 but lost his belt against the No. 2 ranked Muhammed in a grueling physical contest.
