UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards is Jamaican-British. Edwards was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and lived with his parents and brother Fabian, a Bellator MMA fighter, in a one-room wooden hut with a zinc roof. Nine-year-old Edwards and his family moved to Aston, Birmingham, England.
Leon Edwards’s Early Life
He spent his childhood in an area with a high violent crime rate. When Edwards was thirteen years old, his father was murdered in a nightclub by a gunshot wound.
Rocky was the nickname that Edwards’ classmates and friends at school gave him because of his propensity to get into fights on the street.
Edwards’ mother insisted that he start training in mixed martial arts (MMA) to keep him away from the drug selling and gang violence prevalent in his neighborhood at the time.
Edwards began his routine at the Ultimate Training Center in Erdington, visiting the facility twice to thrice daily. He decided to take on the role of coach for the gym’s younger competitors so that his mother would no longer have to cover his membership fees.
Eight months into his training, Edwards debuted in amateur mixed martial arts (MMA) and won four fights at a local event in one day.
Edwards debuted as a professional on June 5, 2011, and before joining the UFC, he had a record of 8-1. This featured a perfect 5-0 description in BAMMA, where he earned and successfully defended the BAMMA Welterweight Championship.
His only setback was a disqualification for throwing an illegal knee, which was his only setback.
Leon Edwards’s Early Career
On November 8 in 2014, on the UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Saint Preux, Edwards debuted in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) against Cláudio Silva.
Edwards was defeated by a judge’s decision of a split draw. Still, he soon got back on his feet and won his next fight by knocking out Seth Baczynski with a straight left and ground and pound just eight seconds into the first round.
This knockout earned Edwards the honor of Performance of the Night and is the second-fastest knockout in the history of the Welterweight division in the UFC.
Edwards won a majority decision against Pawe Pawlak at UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Leites, and then went on to face his future competitor and the next UFC Welterweight Champion, Kamaru Usman, in the early prelims of UFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs. Cowboy 2.
Pawe Pawlak was Edwards’ last opponent. Usman, a three-time NCAA Division II All-American and an NAIA national qualifier took advantage of Edwards’ lack of wrestling experience by getting the fight to the ground and controlling Edwards for most of the contest.
Usman won the NCAA Division II national championship in 2010 and was also an NAIA national qualifier.
Usman won the national championship for NCAA Division II in 2010, is a three-time All-American for NCAA Division II, and qualified for the NAIA national tournament. Edwards’ most recent loss was at the hands of Usman and was decided by a unanimous decision.
The following eight UFC fights that Edwards would compete in would all end in victories for him. In 2016, Edwards won unanimously over Dominic Waters at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Arlovski and via rear naked choke over Albert Tumenov at UFC 204. Both fights took place in 2016.
In 2017, Edwards defeated Vicente Luque and Bryan Barberena using unanimous decisions in their bouts, which took place at UFC Fight Night: Manuwa vs. Anderson and UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Struve, respectively.
In 2018, Edwards won via technical knockout over Peter Sobotta with one second left in the third round and won by majority decision over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone .
Both fights took place at UFC Fight Night events. In 2019, he won by split decision over Gunnar Nelson and unanimously against the former UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos.
Because of the COVID-19 infections and the restrictions imposed by the authorities, it would be close to two years before Edwards would compete inside the Octagon again.
During this time, scheduled bouts against Tyron Woodley, a former champion of the UFC Welterweight division, and Khamzat Chimaev, a relative newcomer, were canceled.
Leon Edwards’s UFC Career
Leon Edwards competed against Cláudio Silva for the first time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on November 8, 2014. Still, the fight ended in a loss for Edwards.
He got back on his feet with a knockout victory over Seth Baczynski, which earned him a bonus for Performance of the Night and made it so that his knockout was the sixth-quickest in the history of the UFC.
In consecutive fights, he was victorious over Pawel Pawlak, Dominic Waters, Albert Tumenov, Vicente Luque, Bryan Barberena, and Peter Sobotta. In each of those fights, he was victorious.
In 2015, Edwards competed against Kamaru Usman, who would win the UFC championship. However, Edwards was defeated by a unanimous decision.
In 2019, he defeated Gunnar Nelson by a victory decided by a split decision; however, after the fight, he got into a confrontation with Jorge Masvidal backstage and was disqualified.
After that, he defeated Rafael dos Anjos by unanimous decision in the main UFC event broadcast on ESPN 4 in 2019.
The bout between Edwards and Tyron Woodley was set to occur in March 2020. However, it was called off owing to constraints imposed by COVID-19.
Later on, he was supposed to engage in three bouts against Khamzat Chimaev, but all those fights were called off because of problems relating to COVID-19.
After that, in March 2021, he fought Belal Muhammad, but the fight was ruled a no-contest because he accidentally poked himself in the eye during the match.
In the end, Edwards prevailed over Nate Diaz through a unanimous decision at UFC 263, which took place in June 2021. Due to Jorge Masvidal’s injury, a fight that was supposed to take place in December 2021 against him has been canceled.
Leon Edwards’s Biography in Brief
| Name: |
Leon Edwards |
| Nick Name: | Rocky |
| Age: | 31 |
| Born: | 25 August 1991 |
| Gender: | Male |
| Height: | 6′ 2″ft |
| Weight: | 170 lbs |
| Country of Origin: | Kingston, Jamaica |
| Net Worth/Salary | $ 1.5Million |
| Wife/Girlfriend | N/A |
| Relationship Status | married |
| Kids- | Jayon(son) |
| Father | N/A |
| Mother | N/A |
| Siblings | Fabian Edwards |
| Social Media | Twitter – Instagram – Facebook |
Leon Edwards’s MMA Career
In 2011, Leon Edwards competed in his first MMA bout as a professional. He immediately established himself as a rising star in regional UK-based organizations. He won eight of his first nine fights and won titles in numerous promotions. He also signed a contract with the UFC in 2014.
Edwards was defeated in his debut encounter for Dana White’s promotion. Despite the loss, the fighter recovered and won back-to-back fights.
His excellent achievements propelled him into the top ten of the UFC’s welterweight class. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, necessitated the cancellation of Edwards’ battle against former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in March 2020.
Edwards was next supposed to face Khamzat Chimaev. However, the match was called off many times owing to COVID-19 difficulties. His most notable UFC achievement is his welterweight championship victory over Kamaru Usman in a rematch.
Seven years after ‘Rocky’s’ initial loss to ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ in 2015, he finally got his revenge. Since then, his UFC career has progressed, but securing a championship shot has proven difficult for the Englishman.
Despite defeating some well-known opponents in the promotion, he could not confirm the championship opportunity he needed.
And it wasn’t until last year that he was given the chance to challenge for the championship, which he dutifully fulfilled by earning the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 278.
Leon Edwards’s UFC Welterweight Champion
UFC 278 took place on August 20, 2022, and featured a rematch between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman for the UFC Welterweight Championship.
On that night, Leon Edwards won the fight via knockout in the fifth round, earning him the award for Performance of the Night and the Welterweight title. It has been decided that the third installment of Edwards vs. Usman will occur at UFC 286 on March 18, 2023.
Leon Edwards successfully defended his belt against Kamaru Usman on March 18, 2023, allowing him to maintain his position as the undisputed UFC Welterweight champion.
Leon Edwards’s Net Worth
According to Media Referee, Leon Edwards has an estimated net worth of $1.5 million. This figure includes his earnings from his fights, endorsements, and sponsorships so far.
Edwards earned a decent salary during his UFC tenure, with his pay increasing as he climbed the rankings. His highest payday so far came from his victory against Kamaru Usman at UFC 278, which earned him the UFC Welterweight title. From that fight, Edwards earned $350,000 for the battle, including a $50,000 performance bonus.
It is clear that Edwards has been able to earn a comfortable living from his MMA career, and his success in the Octagon has helped increase his net worth and profile both within and outside the sport.
Leon Edwards’s Personal Life
Because Leon Edwards, who is now 31 years old, prefers to keep his personal life secret, his relationship status is unknown. No information indicates whether ‘Rocky’ has a wife, girlfriend, or partner.
On the other hand, Leon Edwards is rumored to have one kid named Jayon, who is now thought to be six years old and was born between 2016 and 2017.
Edwards prefers to keep it that way, affording privacy to someone who most likely dislikes being in the public eye. The name of Jayon’s mother is unknown, and Edwards prefers to keep it that way.
The father, who spent his boyhood in Aston, Birmingham, has pledged to provide Jayon with a childhood free from danger, filled with comfort, and focused on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
