Leon Edwards

Leon Edwards (born 25 August 1991) is an English professional mixed martial artist.

He currently competes in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Welterweight Champion.

In the early hours of the 2 October 2004, when Edwards was old, his father was shot and killed in a nightclub in Croydon, London.

He was then involved in criminal activity such as drug dealing, street fighting, and knife possession along with others in his social circle, but was able to get out of his lifestyle at age 17, when his mother got him to join an MMA club.

Edwards began his professional fighting career in 2010, making his debut as an amateur at Bushido Challenge 2 - A New Dawn.

Edwards fought Carl Booth, winning via an armbar submission in round two.

Edwards then signed a contract with Fight UK MMA.

He debuted for the promotion against Damian Zlotnicki, winning via technical knockout in the first round.

He had two more fights for the promotion, winning against Pawel Zwiefka and losing against Delroy McDowell via DQ by way of an illegal knee.

Edwards obtained a 2–1 record after leaving Fight UK MMA.

He then fought Craig White at the Strength and Honor 14, winning by decision.

Edwards then went to fight for "BAMMA", in which he went 5–0.

During his stint with BAMMA, he won the welterweight championship against Wayne Murrie and he defended it once against Shaun Taylor in what was his last fight with BAMMA before going to the UFC.

A professional competitor since 2011, Edwards formerly competed for BAMMA, where he was the BAMMA Welterweight Champion.

As of 20 February 2024, he is #3 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.

Edwards was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and lived with his parents and his brother in a one-room house.

Growing up, he was surrounded by crime, and his father was involved in what he describes as "questionable activities".

Edwards moved to the Aston area of Birmingham, England at nine years old.

Edwards made his promotional debut against Cláudio Silva on 8 November 2014 at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Saint Preux.

He was defeated via split decision.

Edwards faced veteran Seth Baczynski on 11 April 2015 at UFC Fight Night 64.

Edwards won the fight via KO at 0:08 of the first round.

This result earned him a Performance of the Night bonus and marked one of the sixth fastest knockouts in the organization.

Edwards faced Pawel Pawlak on 18 July 2015 at UFC Fight Night 72.

He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Edwards next faced eventual UFC champion Kamaru Usman on 19 December 2015 at UFC on Fox 17.

He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Edwards faced Dominic Waters on 8 May 2016 at UFC Fight Night 87.

He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Edwards next faced Albert Tumenov on 8 October 2016 at UFC 204.

He won the fight via submission in the third round.

Edwards faced Vicente Luque on 18 March 2017 at UFC Fight Night 107.

He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Edwards faced Bryan Barberena on 2 September 2017 at UFC Fight Night 115.

He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Edwards faced Peter Sobotta on 17 March 2018 at UFC Fight Night 127.

He won the fight via TKO at 4:59 in the third round.

Edwards faced Donald Cerrone on 23 June 2018 at UFC Fight Night 132.

He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Edwards faced Gunnar Nelson on 16 March 2019 at UFC Fight Night 147.