When it comes to humble beginnings, UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards comes to mind. At one point, ‘Rocky’ was labeled as one of the unluckiest fighters on the roster. Right from his opponent pulling out last minute before a scheduled fight to the 31-year-old not getting a rightfully deserved shot at the gold, Leon has been through some rough patches in his career.
However, his profession isn’t the only area where bad days found their way into. Leon has had a really rough childhood, like many of his Jamaican peers. At the age of nine, Edwards moved to the Aston area of Birmingham, England. At just the mere age of thirteen, his father was shot and killed in a nightclub in London.
On a recent episode of UFC Countdown, the Birmingham resident could be seen visibly excited to enter his mother’s newly opened takeaway restaurant, ‘Sweet’s Kitchen’. It is known for serving traditional Caribbean food, something his mother had always dreamt about.
Upon asking how special is this win for him and his family? Edwards, without skipping a beat shared, “I’ve changed their [his family’s] life, you know? Just for this one moment and we all worked this hard for and to have achieved it. Means everything to me.”
“My mom managed to, since winning the title, open a Jamaican restaurant. From the time I could remember as a kid, I just remember her saying that she wanted to be in that business and open a takeaway restaurant. She’s excited and its going well, its picking up slowly, but its going very well”, shared Leon as he reminisced the tough days the duo have shared together.
“To be born in poverty in Jamaica, to now becoming a UFC welterweight champion, it’s like a movie”, added Leon.
Leon Edwards’ emotional phone call to his mother and the promise
Unlike many professional MMA fighters, Leon didn’t seem to ‘celebrate’ his win along with his coaches and training partners backstage. Instead, he FaceTime’d his mother, who was proudly watching her son attain UFC gold from her home in Birmingham.
Thankfully for the fans, UFC officials captured a heartwarming yet precious moment between a mother and her son. The 31-year-old appeared visibly emotional and in disbelief, as he kept holding on to his strap. Even though he couldn’t find any words to express it, he continued staying on the video call while his mother watched him absorb the moment.
“I told you mum, I told you I’d do it”, is all Leon could utter, as he appeared visibly emotional while showing off his newly-earned belt to her mother.
However, this isn’t the only time fans have witnessed Leon expressing a warm gesture to his mother after a big fight. The Jamaican-born shared some heartwarming ‘stories’ on his Snapchat after what was, probably the biggest win of his career at the time. Leon went head-to-head against one of the biggest names in the sport, Nate Diaz, at UFC 263 in June 2021.
UFC 286 goes down at The O2 Arena in London, England on Saturday, March 18. The UK will host the first numbered event since UFC 204. Do you think Leon Edwards will repeat history in front of his home crowd? or will Kamaru Usman make enough adjustments to regain his title back? Let us know in the comments down below.
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