Leon Edwards Has Found His Way

Headshot! Bang! Done. A feint, a leading backhand, and one swift headkick placed the UFC Welterweight Championship belt on the waist of Birmingham’s Leon Edwards on August 21, 2022.

The 31-year-old MMA star astonished the fighting world with a heroic comeback in his rematch with Kamaru Usman—seven years on from their first bout, in which the former champion came out on top. The Jamaican-born talent’s seven-year journey from the first to second bout with Mr. Usman was afflicted by a spread of untimely events—including delays to fights, injuries to would-be opponents, an eight-fight win streak ended by a no-contest bout with Belal Muhammad, and not least the ramifications of COVID-19. All of this would leave his rematch and title dreams up in the air, unable to see the clear route to where he deserved to be.

But he persevered, training non-stop to be in the best condition he could be in. “Leading into the second fight, I was solid—mentally,” he explains. “I knew what I needed to do to win. I knew how to approach it. That would’ve been my fifth main event for the UFC. Even though it was a longer road to get to that point of fighting for the title—because of the ups and downs I went through in my career—looking back now, it was a blessing in disguise. It gave me time to improve, build my foundation, fortify my skill-sets, and my mental state.” Recognised as a main eventer, collecting wins against UFC veterans like Donald Cerrone, Gunnar Nelson and Nate Diaz, Leon Edwards’ rematch with Kamaru Usman became a possibility again. At UFC 278, the fight would take place, with a rejuvenated Leon stepping into the Octagon with not something to prove, but something to show.

We caught up with the newly-crowned Champ to expose the workings of his mentality heading into the second fight, as well as the history behind his endeavours into MMA and his immediate fighting future.

Headshot! Bang! Done. A feint, a leading backhand, and one swift headkick placed the UFC Welterweight Championship belt on the waist of Birmingham’s Leon Edwards on August 21, 2022.

The 31-year-old MMA star astonished the fighting world with a heroic comeback in his rematch with Kamaru Usman—seven years on from their first bout, in which the former champion came out on top. The Jamaican-born talent’s seven-year journey from the first to second bout with Mr. Usman was afflicted by a spread of untimely events—including delays to fights, injuries to would-be opponents, an eight-fight win streak ended by a no-contest bout with Belal Muhammad, and not least the ramifications of COVID-19. All of this would leave his rematch and title dreams up in the air, unable to see the clear route to where he deserved to be.

But he persevered, training non-stop to be in the best condition he could be in. “Leading into the second fight, I was solid—mentally,” he explains. “I knew what I needed to do to win. I knew how to approach it. That would’ve been my fifth main event for the UFC. Even though it was a longer road to get to that point of fighting for the title—because of the ups and downs I went through in my career—looking back now, it was a blessing in disguise. It gave me time to improve, build my foundation, fortify my skill-sets, and my mental state.” Recognised as a main eventer, collecting wins against UFC veterans like Donald Cerrone, Gunnar Nelson and Nate Diaz, Leon Edwards’ rematch with Kamaru Usman became a possibility again. At UFC 278, the fight would take place, with a rejuvenated Leon stepping into the Octagon with not something to prove, but something to show.

We caught up with the newly-crowned Champ to expose the workings of his mentality heading into the second fight, as well as the history behind his endeavours into MMA and his immediate fighting future.

“I don’t have to look over my back now—I get to travel the world, meet new people, and all through doing the job that I love.”

COMPLEX: Considering where you’ve come from, and the pressures of a young man living a life dictated by the codes of the roads, how do you see the contrast of pressures you experienced then with the pressure of being a UFC fighter at the top of his game now?

Leon Edwards: It’s two different pressures. Different expectations from my family… I always wanted my family to be in a better position, and I’m able to make that happen for them now. Back in the day, there was a small-minded way of thinking when I was on road. I thought the roads was life—and that was it! It was the pinnacle of life.

When did you realise that you were destined for more than that? I ask that thinking of those who are in a similar position and perhaps want to make a transition into the fighting world, or sports in general.

I got into MMA for my mum; she asked me to go to the gym and just do something for her to make her proud. Then I realised, nobody wins on road. I don’t know anyone that’s won. I know man that have done bits and moved to other countries. I know man that are doing life, caught bodies, but there’s no wins. Short-term wins, yeah—you make a little change here and there—but long-term wins? I want long-term wins, and I realised that MMA could give me that. I don’t have to look over my back now—I get travel the world, meet knew people, and all from doing the job that I love. Financially, I’m good enough that I can look after my family too. Gangbanging, postcodes, blah, blah, blah. There’s nothing there! I used MMA to change my mind, but it doesn’t have to be MMA. You can still use the same discipline and focus that I used in MMA to go into whatever you want to go into—writing, music, whatever. Dedicate yourself to it and put your time into it. I stopped hanging out on road and stayed in the gym, from morning till night, training, training, training. I went through years without getting paid because I had the vision. It is easier said than done, but anything you want to do in life, make a plan, write it down in a book, and say, “Listen! This is what I am doing and nobody’s getting me off my path.” That’s the only way you can change your life: by actively changing it. Dedicate yourself full-time to it, research it, watch it, study it, and it will happen.

For me, there’s such a thing as an aura of a champion. I wonder, how has your day-to-day life changed?

I wouldn’t say it’s changed massively. Obviously, more people notice you, you get more shit for free, more media, but for my day-to-day life, I’m still simple. I’m still doing my thing, still with my family and my son. Financially, though, it has changed. I think, for me, my rise was gradual—it wasn’t overnight. It’s been about 7-8 years in the works. This is my eleventh fight that I’ve won in a row for the UFC. When I first started off, you would’ve had one-word answers from me [laughs]. I still had that road mentality to things, you get me? But now, I’m able to share my story and talk. I’m more comfortable now.

What was your mentality going into your second fight with Kamaru Usman?

I’ll go through the first fight: so, the first fight—by then, I’d been doing MMA for four years. Kamaru was doing it for a similar time, but he did college wrestling in the States so he was already seasoned in the wrestling part of the game. I remember when my coaches, back then—I’ve got different coaches now—they were telling me I needed to move to America to improve my wrestling to compete against him, basically. So I left Birmingham and I went to AKA in California to train for that fight. I just didn’t feel myself. The camp was focused more on defending, worried about what he’s going to do to me more than what I needed to do to him, to win. And I think it showed in the first fight, so I lost that one by decision.

The second fight—after seven years of winning, I haven’t lost since I last fought him. I came back to Birmingham, restructured my team, got the right people on board, and I haven’t lost since. Leading into the second fight, I was solid—mentally. I knew what I needed to do to win. I knew how to approach it. That would’ve been my fifth main event for the UFC. Even though it was a longer road to get to that point of fighting for the title—because of the ups and downs I went through in my career—looking back now, it was a blessing in disguise. It gave me time to improve, build my foundation, fortify my skill-sets, and my mental state. I was supposed to fight Tyron Woodley, but it got cancelled a week before due to Covid. Those two years, man…

—two years cut from our lives.

Bare cancellations of fights. Everyone was like, “You’re unlucky, blah, blah, blah.” But for me, my mental frame, I had to stop moaning and saying, “Why me?” After a week or two, I thought, “What can I do now to come out of this situation?” Show up to the gym. Control what I can control, improve, get better. When it comes time for me to get my opportunity that I deserve, I’ll be ready for it. But until then, I’ll use this time to improve myself, and get better physically and mentally.

“If I can share my story and it helps one or two people, then I’ll happy. It would be selfish of me to get to this position and be like, ‘You man figure it out for yourselves.’”

 

Image via Publicist

I remember getting back and watching your fight with Usman. I can’t lie: I was waved from a late night out [laughs]. I flicked it on my phone and saw you spin him in the first round. The second round was a bit difficult, the third and fourth were jarring—at that point, he was winning. But I remember, the last two minutes, my heart was beating off. You still had a strikers’ chance! Going into the last two minutes, what were you thinking?

At the start of the fifth round, my coach was like, “I don’t know what’s going on with you.” But it was the altitude that was affecting me. In Utah, it’s 6100 ft above sea level—the air is thin, so if your body’s not adjusted to that, it’ll get to you because you need at least nine or ten weeks living at that altitude to perform at a certain level. I was backstage warming up and I could see everyone gassing out, getting tired from fighting there. Usman trains in Denver, Colorado, which also has a high altitude, so his body’s used to it. Whereas, in Birmingham? It’s like 100! There’s nothing there. I remember thinking, “Why is everyone getting tired?” Luke Rockhold, Paulo Costa—who are both normally aggressive and fit—they were hands-on-knees mid-fight. I was hoping it didn’t get to me like that. I arrived two weeks early to acclimatise to the area and everything. Going into the last two minutes, like I said, that struggle that I went through, that’s what kept my mental solid. Most man would’ve probably faded, but there’s no way I came this far for it to end like that. I remember hearing my coaches shouting, “Headkick! Headkick! Throw the backhand.” Normally, in boxing, they parry—which is a good technique to do, parrying the shots. We’ve got kicks involved, so you can’t parry too much, but I threw the backhand, he parried it, I wrapped the shin around his head and it landed perfectly.

It rattled him to the core. That moment transcended you—you could see it. What I also loved about that night was your interview bigging up your mum, and the scenes from your gym back home. It made me think about how you grew up and came into this thing. I haven’t really got to understand the culture and community of the MMA base, but how is it in Birmingham?

MMA has grown massively in Birmingham. Other than football, there’s MMA. Birmingham knew what it meant to the city for me to go and achieve that. Even in the video, you can see how excited I was to put on for my city. They knew how much I worked for it, they know the struggles I’ve been through. The second ever UFC Champion from the UK, the first Jamaican-born Champion—it’s a big deal, man. You can see it in the video backstage when I phoned my mum, when I’m crying, saying: “I told you I’ll change your life.” It’s hard to put into words, that moment.

Do you like any other sports?

Nah, not really. It was all about football and grime when I was younger. But I love boxing. I watch boxing more than MMA.

Who would you say is your favourite fighter?

I think, for the UFC, Jon Jones is the GOAT for me. He’s just sick! Boxing, you have your Canelos and your Errol Spences—that’s the kind of boxing I like. I enjoy singular sports, anything to do with one-on-one. It could be pool—anything! I like sports where you can’t hide behind anyone; it’s me vs you.

What sort of music do you listen to?

Hip-hop, reggae, Afrobeats. My favourite artists right now are Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Kodak Black, Future. UK-wise, I like Fredo, Dave, Little Torment. I like Skeng from yard, too. For fighting, I need to listen to some Skeng to get into a certain mindset.

When was the first time your friends called your Rocky?

Young—from school days. I had that name from when I was about 14. I was always the one to fight. But it’s mad now, because I got into MMA. I didn’t know what MMA was until I was 17; it wasn’t popular back in the day, really. I was in school, getting into trouble, fighting on road—and now look! It’s mad how things works out.

I want to see you fight a few people, but is it safe to say the next fight is the trilogy?

Yeah, I had a meeting on the Monday after the fight with Dana and they were saying they want a big stadium trilogy in the UK. It’s looking like early next year—March or April times. I’m trying to get it in Wembley, but it might be a colder time of the year. Cardiff could be a shout if not, as there’s a roof in their stadium. My preference would be Birmingham, Villa Park, but again: it might be too cold.

I also want to see you fight Masvidal.

I even said to him I’ll give him a title shot, but he doesn’t deserve it. He’s on, like, a 2-3 fight losing streak. It’s hard to make it make sense for the company and fans, but that’s a fight that I want. I haven’t seen him since he sucker-punched me, so I want that one back. That needs to happen; it’s going to happen either way. I won’t make millions for it like I would doing it in the Octagon, but it will happen.

Lastly, how have you utilised your success with MMA to help with community-driven incentives?

I have charities that I work with, for knife crime, for at-risk youth, supporting single mums. I partnered up with the UFC who has helped fund some stuff with this charity called Legacy. There’s one in Croydon, Liverpool and Birmingham. The UFC has funded around £40,000 in each Legacy location with kit: boxing gloves, shin-pads—all of that. I go to mentor the kids, and I also got to go back to my old school and talk to the kids there. My passion is to give back; I love doing it. Even in Jamaica, I’m doing a charity there—a similar thing with the UFC. I know how hard it is to get out of the trenches; I’ve been there, lost friends to it, my dad to it—I lived it! If I can share my story and it helps one or two people, then I’m happy. It would be selfish of me to get to this position and be like, “You man figure it out for yourselves.” If I can help, I definitely help.