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Leon Edwards is the current UFC welterweight champion after beating Kamaru Usman earlier this year in spectacular fashion. Edwards was born in Kingston, Jamaica, before moving to England at age nine.
He was surrounded by poverty and crime throughout his childhood. Edwards found himself getting involved in illegal activities such as drug dealing and street fighting in the UK.
At the age of seventeen, his mother made him join an MMA gym in the hopes that he would mend his ways. The Brit ended up finding his passion and took to MMA, making his professional debut in 2010. His early career saw him fight in the UK under various promotions such as Fight UK MMA and BAMMA, where he became the welterweight champion.
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Leon Edwards then made his UFC debut back in 2014 at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Saint Preux, where he lost via split decision. In just his fourth fight in the UFC, he fought Kamaru Usman, in 2015 and ended up losing via unanimous decision. Usman then went on to become one of the most dominant champions the division has seen, while Edwards was still working his way up the rankings.
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After fighting the likes of Nate Diaz, Donald Cerrone, and Rafael dos Anjos, he got a title shot 7 years after he first fought Kamaru Usman. The Brit was losing the fight on the scorecards and needed a finish to win. In the final round of the fight, he knocked the champ out with a kick to the head to become only the second ever British UFC champion.
Leon Edwards wants his first title defense to take place at Wembley
Leon Edwards was very clear with Dana White about the fact that he wants his first title defense to take place on his home soil in the UK. The UFC welterweight champion wants to defend his belt at the historic Wembley Stadium in London. During his post-fight press conference after UFC 278, he spoke about what it means to be the first British Champion who trains in the UK:
"Nah Wembley for sure, hundred percent... This has never been done before, to have a guy from Birmingham in the UK, did it from the UK. I know Bisping did it first, but he did it from living in America you know... I made a point to stay in the UK to achieve this to show the other guys coming under me."
Leon Edwards will look to defend his title in 2023 against Kamaru Usman in their trilogy fight. Since Usman was the champion, he gets the immediate rematch. This time it's under the terms of the champion Edwards.
Take a look at the interview:
