Is Leon Edwards the best British MMA fighter to date? Teammate Jai Herbert answers (Exclusive)

Leon Edwards will defend his title for the first time against Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 this weekend.

Edwards' teammate from Renegade MMA, Jai Herbert, will also make an appearance on the preliminary card against Slovak talent L'udovit Klein. Going into UFC 286, Hebert answered where he ranks 'Rocky' among the top British MMA fighters of all time.

According to 'The Black Country Banger', Leon Edwards and Michael Bisping are the two greatest British MMA fighters in history as they are the only ones to have won UFC titles. However, Herbert has an obvious bias towards 'Rocky' being from the same team as the UFC welterweight champion.

Predicting a stoppage win for Edwards, the 34-year-old told Andrew Whitelaw of Sportskeeda MMA:

"Obviously he's one of the top. It's got to be like him and Bisping... These are the only two that won titles from Britain so. And obviously he's my boy Leon. So I'm gonna say he is the greatest. He is No.1... I just think it's his time now. I think it's his time to go and reign. And I think that he gets the win via stoppage."

Jai Herbert is 2-3 in the UFC and is coming off a unanimous decision win over Kyle Nelson. Looking to build a winning streak, 'The Black Country Banger' will look to pick up his third UFC win on Saturday. Previewing his bout, Herbert said:

"If the opportunity [for the finish] arises, I'll go for it. I always go for the kill. But obviously more important is getting the win."

Catch Jai Herbert's comments below:

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The rise of Leon Edwards and Team Renegade

While Team Renegade started as a jiu-jitsu gym, it turned into an MMA gym following the closure of Leon Edwards' UTC gym in 2018. 'Rocky', along with key member Tom Breese and a few others have since been honing championship-caliber fighters in Birmingham, simultaneously improving their own game.

While Leon Edwards has already captured UFC gold, his brother Fabian is on the cusp of a middleweight title shot in Bellator, and teammate Arnold Allen is also close to a UFC featherweight gold bid.

Speaking of the slightly different gym dynamics at Renegade MMA, Fabian Edwards recently told BBC Sport:

"It's mad because we're kind of like our own head coaches. A lot of gyms have one coach who you speak to, who brings it all together, whereas here everyone tends to speak in a group. It feels special."

Catch UFC 286: Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman 3 live in India on Sony Sports Network from 2:30 AM onwards on Sunday, March 19.