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Leon Edwards has established himself as one of the best welterweights in the UFC, as he is currently the No.2-ranked welterweight. He has not lost in his last 10 fights, and his next matchup will be at UFC 278 for the welterweight championship. Interestingly, his last loss was nearly seven years ago to his UFC 278 opponent, Kamaru Usman.
Edwards, who was born in Jamaica and moved to England as a child, had a very rough upbringing. He recently sat down with Shakiel Mahjouri on his YouTube show, SHAK MMA, to discuss his upbringing. He was initially asked about having his own bed, stating (starting at the 12:45 mark):
"Even though it was like a two-bedroom house, to me, from basically living in a shack in Jamaica, a wooden shack with a zinc roof. In that room, your bedroom, your living room, your kitchen, all in one, so going from there to now living in the UK having a downstairs, upstairs, living room, kitchen and then two bedrooms. You felt like you made it. I remember it was an amazing time."
Edwards was then asked if his rough upbringing has allowed him to better manage his money and responded by stating (starting at the 13:30 mark):
"Yeah, 100 percent. Coming from a humble beginning, I try to put my money into stuff and save my money... I don't want to go back to that stage of my life."
Watch Leon Edwards' full appearance on SHAK MMA below:
Kamaru Usman is well on his way to become the greatest UFC welterweight
Although Leon Edwards has not lost in nearly seven years, his opponent, Kamaru Usman, has not lost since his second professional fight, over nine years ago. He enters UFC 278 on a 19-fight win-streak, including a 15-0 record in the UFC.
Many fighters, including Anthony Smith, Jamahal Hill, Robert Whittaker, and Vicente Luque have stated that Usman is simply too tough for Edwards. With Usman's long-term dominance over the welterweight division, it is no surprise that many are counting Edwards out. Usman has an opportunity to tie Anderson Silva for the longest win streak in UFC history, something that UFC President Dana White believes will happen:
Leon Edwards has improved since his first matchup with Kamaru Usman. Unfortunately for Edwards, Usman has also improved tremendously and is now the UFC's pound-for-pound king.
Usman has established himself as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all-time. Edwards shouldn't be counted out, but it is tough to see him, or any welterweight, ending Usman's streak of dominance.
