Leon Edwards has been described because the “red-haired stepson” of the UFC.
Despite an eight-game successful streak, the Jamaican-born Briton discovered himself out of the UFC welterweight rankings final 12 months due to his inactivity.
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Leon Edwards’ laborious work was virtually undone by inactivity
It wasn’t his fault. The coronavirus pandemic robbed Edwards of his showdown with Tyron Woodley at UFC London, and then journey restrictions stole about six months of his profession.
Once he was lastly paired with Khamzat Chimaev, that battle failed 3 times, with Edwards contracting COVID-19 for the primary time earlier than Chimaev acquired it and suffered extreme ache.
So unhealthy that he could not make the third date, which implies Edwards now faces Belal Muhammad in thirteenth place this weekend.
No Briton has ever pulled off the successful streak Edwards now has. Even Conor McGregor’s greatest is seven in a row.
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Leon Edwards was born in Jamaica however moved to England when he was 9
Rocky has crushed guys like Donald Cerrone, Vincent Luque, Gunar Nelson and former light-weight champion Rafael Dos Anjos. It’s not a reward listing in any respect and if Edwards is anticipated to lengthen his streak to 9 in a row this Saturday, UFC President Dana White has mentioned Edwards will get the winner from Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. for the welterweight title.
Usman is a extreme check for any man. The Nigerian nightmare is the newest man to defeat Edwards with a resolution victory in 2015, however issues have modified since then.
Edwards hasn’t misplaced since and Usman is now the dominant champion who cleaned up the division.
To put in context what Edwards’ accomplishments within the welterweight division are, solely two males have longer successful streaks.
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Edward’s successful document is simple
Who are they? Current champion Usman and maybe the best of all time, Georges St-Pierre.
These two have received 13 straight UFC victories and St-Pierre has efficiently defended his title 9 consecutive instances.
He’s the benchmark of the division and though Edwards is in that prime class for achievements, many consider the Birmingham fighter hasn’t garnered the respect he deserves.
Does he want to be extra frank? Does he want this fiery rivalry? What can Leon Edwards do to get his identify in individuals’s mouths aside from successful, successful, successful?
That ought to be sufficient, however individuals will say the UFC is making an attempt to promote pay-per-view. Yet Edwards is not a boring character; his time within the UFC has seen him relentlessly calling individuals, preventing backstage with Jorge Masvidal and poking enjoyable at Darren Till for who’s the most effective British fighter.
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Donald Cerrone is one in every of Edwards’ largest scalps
Edwards was by no means afraid to ruffle feathers. He’s an especially technical and clever fighter, so possibly he isn’t the knockout artist making the headlines.
In his eight-game successful streak, six of them went to selections with a single knockout and a submission.
As Dan Hardy and Michael Bisping defined, Edwards is the UK’s greatest probability to see a world champion within the close to future.
Darren Till is additionally taking part on this dialog. If he can defeat Marvin Vettori on April 10, it is extensively believed that Israel Adesanya desires to defend his middleweight belt in opposition to Till.
Edwards can strike his ticket to the Promised Land this weekend. If he does, he then faces one of many males he shares the rarefied welterweight air with.
It could not be tougher, however nothing has been straightforward in Edwards’ rise to develop into simple.
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Dana White says Leon Edwards is subsequent if he defeats Belal Muhammad
UFC 260 date: UK begin time, full battle card and reside stream as Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou face off in rematch for heavyweight title
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