Leon Edwards is one of the biggest names in the British MMA scene as he continues to dominate the UFC Welterweight division. The current lifestyle of the Jamaican-born MMA athlete is well documented, but few fans know about his tough upbringing.
Edwards sat down with ESPN in 2019 to give a detailed background on his troubled childhood and how MMA saved his life. The English MMA athlete was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and lived in a wooden shack with a zinc roof with his parents and brother. It was just a single room, not a single-bed-room house but a single room with one bed on which all four family members slept.
‘Rocky’ perfectly painted the picture of his neighborhood in Jamaica by stating that he was the first kid to have a remote-controlled car and a bike. Leon’s father was involved in ‘questionable activities’ that earned him respect within the community.
Leon Edwards was protected due to his father’s influence, but due to crime, drugs, killing, shooting, and poverty in Kingston, his father moved his family to England when ‘Rocky’ was only nine. Leon’s father had already moved to London earlier and later moved his family to England. He, his brother, and his mother moved to Aston, Birmingham. Edwards’ life flipped on his head when his father was shot and killed at a nightclub in London.
“When I was 14, my father was murdered. He was shot and killed at a nightclub in London.”
From poverty in Jamaica to gang wars in England, Leon Edwards has had a heck of a journey to UFC contender. Here’s his story, told to me in 2019 #UFC278 https://t.co/qdMrap7ewL
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) August 20, 2022
Edwards moved into the gang lifestyle in Aston when he lost his father. He acknowledged it as an act of survival in that crime-ridden neighborhood. His crew was involved in fights, robberies, stabbings, and selling drugs. Leon was also arrested a few times for fighting and carrying a knife.
Edwards told ESPN that he regretted a few things he did during his time at Aston. However, all that changed when Edwards was 17. His mother pushed him to join an MMA gym to get off the streets to avoid the gang lifestyle, and the rest was history.
Leon Edwards’ life changed when his mom made him join an MMA gym
Edwards and his mom were walking in Erdington, the part of Birmingham where they moved to after Aston. They came across a gym that was under construction, the Ultimate Training Center. The gym was going to train MMA fighters. Edwards’ mom pushed him to join the gym, even though MMA was prominent in the UK at the time. They couldn’t even afford the membership, but somehow his mom made it work.
The gym helped Leon get off the street and into training for MMA. He began training two or three times a day. The Jamaican later got himself a deal to teach younger kids to avoid paying for his membership. He got his first amateur fight eight months into training and won a tournament at the gym, which convinced Edwards that he belonged in the MMA ring.
Kamaru Usman reveals who the biggest star is between Colby Covington & Leon Edwards pic.twitter.com/qSOSNvcIuf
— Best MMA Moments (@XcellentMMA) December 14, 2023
Leon Edwards made his debut in November 2014 and won the UFC Welterweight Championship by defeating Kamaru Usman at UFC 278. He won the bout via knockout in the fifth round while earning the Performance of the Night award. Later, he defended his title in a rematch against Usman in UFC 286, which was their trilogy fight. Edwards retained the title via a majority decision.
The British fighter is set to defend his title again at UFC 296 against Colby Covington on December 16, 2023. The defense will be the headline fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, in Las Vegas. However, Belal Muhammad is kept as a backup for this fight if Covington is forced off with an injury.
