Former UFC Champion Says Leon Edwards’ Biggest Fight is His Mental Fortitude
Former UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping has claimed the biggest fight on the horizon for Leon Edwards is a battle against the “mental” fatigue of competing, as he looks to prevent a three-fight losing skid in his return to action.
Edwards, a former undisputed welterweight champion, suffered his second consecutive loss at UFC London over the course of the weekend, returning in a main event setting.
And featuring on home soil for the second outing running, Birmingham native, Edwards was submitted by the newly-number one ranked welterweight contender, Sean Brady.
Tapping to an eventual fourth round half guard guillotine choke, Leon Edwards was dominated from bell to bell by the surging Philadelphia native.
And falling down the pecking order at 170lbs, Edwards had previously lost his title in a July rematch with Belal Muhammad last summer, dropping his crown in another one-sided loss to a dominant grappling and wrestling threat.
Leon Edwards tasked with “mental” battle amid losing run
Sharing his thoughts on the unclear future for Team Renegade BJJ & MMA staple, Bisping claims Edwards will face a massive “mental” battle if faced with adversity in the Octagon in the future.
“He (Leon Edwards) did knock out Kamaru Usman, he did defend the belt twice,” Bisping said on his podcast. “And I think for Leon now, it’s just, just ignore all the sh*t. He’s 31 years old; he lost to Belal (Muhammad), he lost to Sean Brady—there’s no shame in that. The biggest struggle I think that Leon’s gonna have now is going to be up here, mentally…
“So the real problem—the biggest fight for Leon right now—is having the mental fortitude to say, ‘No, all right, I lost two, but I ain’t done.’ Because he hasn’t taken a lot of damage, he hasn’t slowed down,” Bisping continued. “And I think that’s going to be really interesting to see how he handles this.”
Already linked with a host of big-name fights at the welterweight limit next, Edwards has been tied to a potential clash with Irish striking star, Ian Garry in his return to action expectedly this year.
