There is a common saying that you’re not a true champion until you defend your title.
Well, if that’s the case, Leon "Rocky" Edwards can now officially call himself a UFC champion.
The 31-year-old Kingston-born British fighter, now 21-3 (1) in MMA, successfully defended his UFC Welterweight title with a majority decision win over Nigerian former Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 at the O2 Arena in London over the weekend.
It was Edwards’ second straight win over Usman, who, before their last fight, was on a 19-fight win streak. That streak included a unanimous decision victory over Edwards back in 2015.
With that being said, their chapter appears to be closed with the question now being: who is next for Leon Edwards?
One good thing about being a UFC champion is that there’s never a shortage of opponents to choose from. In some cases, fighters even get to select who they want to defend their title against, no matter how deserving they truly are of that shot.
Edwards made his attempt at this when, in his post-fight press conference, he called out veteran Jorge Masvidal (35-16) who Edwards had a viral run-in with back in 2019.
On that fateful night, interestingly at the same venue where Edwards defended his title, Masvidal, after knocking out British Welterweight Darren Till in the second round of their main event, was giving an interview backstage after the fight.
Edwards, who was also victorious on the night after securing a split decision win over Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson, made some comments while walking past Masvidal during interview before telling the Miami native to “shut up.”
Masvidal then made his way over to Edwards and the two got into an altercation, with the former landing several unanswered punches to Edwards, who declined to press charges.
Two years later, the pair were scheduled to fight, officially this time, at UFC 269 in Las Vegas before Masvidal pulled out and the bout was scrapped.
Since the incident, their careers have gone on two different paths. Edwards just defended his title and has won four of five fights, with one no contest, while Masvidal is 2-3 in his last five fights, including three straight losses. Two of those came against Usman while his last came against Colby Covington, the man who UFC President Dana White has said is next for Edwards.
Masvidal is currently ninth in the UFC Welterweight rankings and will need to beat number five-ranked Brazilian Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 next month for the UFC to even consider booking him against Edwards for the Welterweight belt.
Another contender for Edwards’ next fight is the aforementioned Colby Covington. Covington, 35, is a former Interim UFC Welterweight champion and is currently the number two-ranked Welterweight contender.
He is 2-2 in his last four fights with both losses coming in title fights against Usman. Covington, 17-3 in MMA, also weighed in as the back-up fighter for Saturday’s title fight between Edwards and Usman, signaling that he may be next in line for a title shot.
The other two main contenders are Khamzat Chimaev and Belal Muhammad.
Chimaev, ranked number three, is a Swedish wrecking ball who is currently 12-0 that could be fast-tracked to a title fight despite having only one win against a ranked fighter in the UFC. Him versus Edwards is unlikely as he is currently contemplating a move up to middleweight.
Muhammad, 22-3 in MMA, could very well have the best argument for a fight with Edwards based on merit. The 34-year-old is ranked number four and is currently on a nine-fight unbeaten streak including eight wins and one no contest.
Remember the no contest for Edwards? It came against Muhammad when they fought in a UFC Fight Night main event back in March 2021.
Edwards accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye in the second round leaving the latter unable to continue. It was determined that the poke was accidental by the referee, meaning, instead of a Muhammad win by disqualification, it was ruled a no contest. Perhaps those two could run it back with the belt on the line.
In the end, whether it’s Edwards vs Masvidal, Edwards vs Covington, Edwards vs Chimaev or Edwards vs Muhammad 2, we will all be watching.
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
Edwards, Muhammad successfully make weight ahead of UFC Welterweight Championship clash at UFC 304 in Manchester
The UFC 304 main event between Jamaican-born British UFC Welterweight champion Leon Edwards and number two ranked Belal Muhammad is now official after both men successfully weighed in at the Welterweight title fight limit of 170 pounds on Friday morning.
Edwards weighed in at 170 pounds while Muhammad came in one pound under at 169 pounds ahead of their rematch at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England on Saturday.
Their first fight back in March 2021 ended in a no contest after Edwards accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye, leaving him temporarily unable to see clearly.
On Saturday, Edwards will be looking to defend his Welterweight crown for the third time since winning it at UFC 278 in August 2022 while Muhammad will be looking for his sixth win in a row and first hold on a UFC title.
Friday’s weigh-ins went about as well as one can go as no fighter on the main card or prelims missed weight.
The rest of the main card is as follows:
Interim champion Tom Aspinall (251 lbs) vs Curtis Blaydes (256 lbs) for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship
King Green (154.5 lbs) vs Paddy Pimblett (156 lbs) at lightweight
Christian Leroy Duncan (185 lbs) vs Gregory Rodrigues (185 lbs) at middleweight
Arnold Allen (145 lbs) vs Giga Chikadze (146 lbs) at featherweight
Edwards predicts knockout win over Muhammad in UFC 304 main event- “He’s another guy that’s in my way”
Jamaican-born British UFC Welterweight Champion Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards is predicting a knockout victory over opponent, number 2 ranked Belal Muhammad, in the main event at UFC 304 in Manchester this Saturday.
Edwards (22-3) enters Saturday’s fight coming off four wins in a row since a no contest against Muhammad in their first fight in March 2021 while Muhammad (23-3) has won five straight since that fight.
The 32-year-old southpaw was asked by MyProtein in a pre-fight interview how he plans to get the victory over Muhammad this weekend.
“Knock him out,” was his simple answer.
“I feel like, for this fight, I want to go out there and get a finish. We’ve fought before. I’ve felt his range and distance. I feel like I’m just the better overall mixed martial artist and I’ll prove that come Saturday night,” Edwards added.
If his prediction of a knockout comes true, it would be the fourth knockout for Edwards in 18 UFC fights.
His last win of that method was his famous head kick knockout win over former champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 in August 2022 to win the Welterweight title.
“I’m number one. I’m the best and that’s all it is. He’s another guy that’s in my way for me to get to where I want to get to and that’s it,” he said.
As far as his preparation goes, Edwards said a lot of hard work was put in to prepare for this upcoming fight.
“Camp’s been good. A lot of hard work. The team pushed me hard this camp and I’m feeling good for it,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to headlining my second homecoming show back in the UK,” he added.
Leon Edwards brings in sleep specialist ahead of UFC title defense against Belal Muhammad
Leon "Rocky" Edwards is leaving no stone unturned as he prepares for his upcoming UFC welterweight title defence against Belal Muhammad. The reigning champion has enlisted the help of a sleep specialist to adjust his body clock to the unusual start time of his fight, set for approximately 5am UK time.
The highly anticipated bout will headline UFC 304 at Manchester’s new Co-op Live Arena on July 27. Despite being held in England, the event’s schedule has been adjusted to cater to American audiences, with the first prelim starting at 11pm UK time and the main card kicking off at 3am. This late-night timeline is a significant departure from the typical 11pm main event start time that British MMA fans are accustomed to.
In an interview with talkSPORT Drive’s Andy Goldstein and Darren Bent, Edwards shared his initial reaction to the unconventional fight schedule. "At the start, I was bit like 'Oh, why is it that time?'" Edwards admitted. However, he quickly adapted by seeking professional help. "I've brought in a specialist in sleep and they've given me a plan of how it will work."
The sleep specialist's plan involves gradually shifting Edwards' daily routine to align with the fight's late start time. "I thought I'd have to train at 5am in the morning every day straight away but they said basically 'Six weeks out we'll start switching your body clock and training'," Edwards explained.
The process includes adjusting his training sessions incrementally. "So my evening session will now become my first session, so at 5pm I'll do my first session and then I'll train again at midnight. And then each week I'll move both sessions forward an hour to adjust to the time so I'll sleep later and train later," he elaborated.
This strategic approach aims to ensure that Edwards will be at peak performance when he steps into the octagon in the early hours of the morning.
The fight holds additional significance given the history between Edwards and Muhammad. Their last encounter in March 2021 at UFC Fight Night 187 in Las Vegas ended in a no-contest due to an accidental eye poke from Edwards that rendered Muhammad unable to continue. This rematch offers both fighters a chance to settle the score and for Edwards, an opportunity to solidify his reign as the welterweight champion.
As the fight approaches, all eyes will be on Edwards to see if his meticulous preparation, including his innovative approach to adjusting his sleep schedule, will give him the edge he needs to defend his title successfully against a formidable opponent in Belal Muhammad.
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