Leon Edwards

Leon Edwards (born 25 August 1991) is a British-Jamaican professional mixed martial artist. who currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2011, Edwards formerly competed for BAMMA, where he was the BAMMA Welterweight Champion. As of October 28, 2020, he is #3 in the UFC welterweight rankings.

Background

Edwards was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and lived with his parents and his brother in a one-room house. Growing up, he was surrounded by crime, and his father was involved in what he describes as "questionable activities". Edwards moved to the Aston area of Birmingham, England at age nine, and his father was shot and killed in a nightclub in London when Edwards was thirteen. He was then involved in criminal activity such as drug dealing, street fighting, and knife possession along with his social circle, but was able to get out of his lifestyle at age 17, when his mother got him to join an MMA club.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Edwards began his professional fighting career in 2010, making his debut as an amateur at Bushido Challenge 2 - A New Dawn. Edwards fought Carl Booth, winning via Armbar submission in round two.

Fight UK MMA

Edwards then signed a contract with Fight UK MMA. He debuted for the promotion against Damian Zlotnicki, winning via technical knockout in the first round. He had two more fights for the promotion, winning against Pawel Zwiefka and losing against Delroy McDowell via DQ by way of an illegal knee.

Post-Fight UK MMA

Edwards obtained a 2–1 record after leaving Fight UK MMA. He then fought Craig White at the Strength and Honor 14, winning by decision. Edwards then went to fight for "BAMMA", in which he went 5–0. During his stint with BAMMA he won the welterweight championship against Wayne Murrie and he defended it once against Shaun Taylor in what was his last fight with BAMMA before going to the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Edwards made his promotional debut against Cláudio Silva on 8 November 2014 at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Saint Preux. He was defeated via split decision.

Edwards faced veteran Seth Baczynski on 11 April 2015 at UFC Fight Night 64. Edwards was victorious, knocking his opponent out eight seconds into the bout with a straight left hand after timing a kick. The result also earned him a Performance of the Night bonus and marked one of the sixth fastest knockouts in the organization.

Edwards faced Pawel Pawlak on 18 July 2015 at UFC Fight Night 72. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Edwards next faced eventual UFC champion Kamaru Usman on 19 December 2015 at UFC on Fox 17. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Edwards faced Dominic Waters on 8 May 2016 at UFC Fight Night 87. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Edwards next faced Albert Tumenov on 8 October 2016 at UFC 204. He won the fight via submission in the third round.

Edwards faced Vicente Luque on 18 March 2017 at UFC Fight Night 107. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Edwards faced Bryan Barberena on 2 September 2017 at UFC Fight Night 115. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Edwards faced Peter Sobotta on 17 March 2018 at UFC Fight Night 127. He won the fight via TKO at 4:59 in the third round.

Edwards faced Donald Cerrone on 23 June 2018 at UFC Fight Night 132. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Edwards faced Gunnar Nelson on 16 March 2019 at UFC Fight Night 147. He won the bout by split decision. After the event, Edwards was involved in a backstage brawl with Jorge Masvidal, which left Edwards with a laceration under his left eye.

Edwards faced former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos on 20 July 2019 in the main event of UFC on ESPN 4. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

As the first bout of his new, multi-fight contract, Edwards was scheduled to face Tyron Woodley on 21 March 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards. However, the restrictions related to COVID-19 forced Edwards to withdraw as the event was meant to be moved from London to the United States, and the event was subsequently cancelled.

After a 425-day hiatus since his bout with Dos Anjos, the UFC had removed Edwards from the UFC rankings due to inactivity on 22 October 2020. However, one day later, it was announced that he had been scheduled to face undefeated prospect Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of UFC Fight Night 183 on 19 December 2020. This involved Edwards being back to the #3 spot in the UFC rankings. On 29 November, it was announced that Chimaev had allegedly tested positive for COVID-19, which meant the bout was declared on jeopardy. On 1 December, Edwards officially tested positive for COVID-19 and allegedly lost twelve pounds due to the severity of his case, so the bout was subsequently postponed. On 22 December, it was announced that the contest has been rescheduled for January 20, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 185. In turn, Chimaev pulled out of the contest on December 29 due to lingering effects of his own COVID-19 struggle. As a result, the bout was momentarily cancelled. On 13 January, the bout was scheduled for the third time, and was scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night 187 on 13 March 2021. However, on 11 February, UFC president Dana White announced the fight was once again cancelled due to Chimaev suffering from lingering effects of COVID-19. On February 18, it was announced that Belal Muhammad would be the replacement opponent for Chimaev. During the beginning of the second round, Edwards accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye rendering him unable to continue. The fight was declared a no contest, snapping his 8-fight win streak.

Edwards was expected to face Nate Diaz on May 15, 2021 in the co-headliner of UFC 262, marking the first time a non-main event and non-title bout had been scheduled for 5 rounds in UFC history. However, the bout was moved to UFC 263 due to a minor injury sustained by Diaz, eventually taking place under five rounds as well. Edwards controlled a vast majority of the bout, but was stunned badly with punches late in the fifth, however he managed to survive and win the fight by unanimous decision.

Edwards was scheduled to face Jorge Masvidal on 11 December 2021 at UFC 269. However, Masvidal withdrew due to injury and the bout was scrapped.

Personal life

Leon, grew up in Birmingham, England but is originally from Kingston, Jamaica. He started training mixed martial arts when he was 16. His nickname, Rocky, was given to him by his friends in school. His brother Fabian is also an MMA fighter for Bellator MMA.