Leon Edwards Has Nothing Left to Fear: ‘I Can Go Out There and Be Free’
Leon Edwards has nothing left to fear.
Coming off his first loss in more than a decade, the former welterweight world champion is back in action this Saturday when the UFC heads to London for a loaded fight card in ‘The Big Smoke.’ In the main event of the evening, ‘Rocky’ will go toe-to-toe with fifth-ranked contender Sean Brady inside the iconic O2 Arena.
The last time Edwards stepped inside the Octagon, he surrendered his 170-pound title to Belal Muhammad in a fairly decisive unanimous decision defeat. Before that, ‘Rocky’ hadn’t lost a fight since a December 2015 clash with Kamaru Usman.
While the loss may have dashed Edwards’ dreams of surpassing Georges St-Pierre’s record for the longest win streak in welterweight history, it’s also had a positive effect on the UK fan favorite.
“I can go out there and be free. Before, when I hadn’t lost in 10 years, I didn’t want to lose [because I’d miss out on a title shot] and I was trying to break this record of GSP,” Edwards told TNT Sports. “I was putting so much pressure on myself because I didn’t want to lose a fight because of GSP’s record. But I’ve lost now, and now I can go out there and be young ‘Rocky.’”
“I’m seasoned now. I feel like I’ve been through it all and had it all,” Edwards added. “There’s nothing to be scared of, right? There’s nothing to be scared of; the what-ifs are no longer there. I know I can be world champion; I’ve done it before. I’ve cemented the belief in myself. I’ve been champion, defended it, and I can do it again.”
Leon Edwards ready to remind the whole who he is
Aside from climbing back into the win column, Edwards plans to use this fight as an opportunity to remind the world just who the hell he is.
“I need to go out there and take care of Sean; what I’ll say on the microphone, obviously, is a title shot straight away and just let the world know, ‘You must’ve forgotten who I am,’” Edwards concluded.
The UFC’s 30th event in the United Kingdom will kick off with a preliminary card at 11 AM ET / 8 AM PT / 5 PM GMT followed by the main card starting at 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT / 8 PM GMT. Check out the full fight card below:
Main Card
- Welterweight Bout: Leon Edwards vs. Sean Brady
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Jan Błachowicz vs. Carlos Ulberg
- Welterweight Bout: Gunnar Nelson vs. Kevin Holland
- Women’s Strawweight Bout: Molly McCann vs. Alexia Thainara
- Lightweight Bout: Jordan Vucenic vs. Chris Duncan
- Featherweight Bout: Nathaniel Wood vs. Morgan Charriere
Preliminary Card
- Lightweight Bout: Jai Herbert vs. Chris Padilla
- Flyweight Bout: Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Felipe dos Santos
- Heavyweight Bout: Marcin Tybura vs. Mick Parkin
- Middleweight Bout: Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Andrey Pulyaev
- Women’s Strawweight Bout: Shauna Bannon vs. Puja Tomar
- Bantamweight Bout: Nathan Fletcher vs. Caolán Loughran
- Lightweight Bout: Guram Kutateladze vs. Kaue Fernandes
