Leon Edwards is the reigning, defending UFC welterweight champion.
It is a position he attained through incredible will and resolve. Edwards (21–3, 1 NC) made his UFC debut in 2014, where he has won 13 of his 15 bouts. His ’15 loss to Kamaru Usman was avenged last summer, when he added a timeless replay to his highlight reel with a Hail Mary head kick in the fifth and final round at UFC 278. Edwards followed up that performance with a far more dominant showing last month in London, defeating Usman by majority decision at UFC 286, not far from where he spent his formative years in Birmingham.
With the Usman puzzle behind him, Edwards now searches for his next opponent. UFC president Dana White has repeated that Colby Covington is next in line, but Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad also make a compelling case for Edwards’s next title defense.
Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Edwards discussed the trilogy with Usman, when he will most likely fight next and why Covington is not the right opponent—at least not yet.
Sports Illustrated: Growing up in England, you were involved in drug dealing and crime. Life began to change once your mother signed you up for mixed martial arts lessons. You now work with children, imparting a message of hope. Do you hope your struggle and perseverance will inspire them?
Leon Edwards: This is much, much bigger than me. I recognize that. I want to let people know that it’s not where you start; it’s where you finish. I dedicated myself to a new life, and I achieved it.
I have a charity in the U.K. and I preach that you can literally achieve anything. Life isn’t fair, and I know that. But if you put God first and dedicate yourself, you can do the things you’re dream of doing.
SI: It took nearly seven years, but you avenged your loss to Kamaru Usman last summer. In the trilogy bout, Usman struggled with your lateral movement. Usman is so dominant when he moves forward. Was lateral movement an area you wanted to expose?
LE: Very much. He is very flat-footed and likes a forward-pressure fight. So I needed to angle off, which opened up leg kicks and different strikes.
SI: Following your bout, it was interesting to hear so many people say that Usman had lost a step. To me, he still looks elite. Was there a noticeable difference between this fight at 286 and last summer at 278?
LE: Kamaru hasn’t lost a step at all. I think he beats everyone else in the top five, apart from me. He's a great ex-champion. He was the last person to defeat me, and that was eight years ago. It was a good match in London.
SI: For years after that loss, you hungered for another shot at Usman. Does it feel strange now that you’ve finished the trilogy?
LE: It was a great trilogy, but I’ve put it behind me. I always knew we’d fight again after that first fight, and we did. Now I’m looking toward the future and new opponents. But look at welterweight. There is no one out there who is the clear number-one contender.
SI: Colby Covington was all over UFC 286 when you beat Usman. Covington was the backup for that fight, and he sat cageside, a question was asked about him in your postvictory Octagon interview, and he even gave a backstage interview before the pay-per-view went off the air. Why were you unhappy that Covington was deemed number-one contender?
LE: Colby sat out for just over a year. He turned down Belal, he turned down Gilbert Burns, he turned down Khamzat [Chimaev], even though he was fit and healthy. And he gets rewarded with a title shot?
When I was going through the pandemic, I took the Khamzat fight, I took the Jorge [Masvidal] fight. Those fell through when Khamzat got ill and I got ill, and Jorge got injured. So it’s strange. I don’t know how to turn down fights. And he’s coming off two losses in his last three fights. To me, the opponent doesn’t matter. It’s all about who’s going to help sell the most pay-per-views. Belal, Colby, Burns, they’re all similar opponents. They’ll all approach a fight similarly. So we need to find a true number-one contender.
SI: I understand why the UFC was pushing for a pay-per-view this summer in London. Pitting you against Covington would have been an easy sell—England vs. USA in July would have been big business, especially with his ability to seize people’s attention through his outlandish interviews. It looks like that card will now be a Fight Night, but had you accepted that as a pay-per-view, you would have been fighting on a very quick turnaround.
LE: If I fight in July, I have to begin training this week. I need more time to rest my body. I’d love to do the Abu Dhabi card [in October]. That’s my goal. That card in July is going to be a Fight Night. I’d love to see Colby fight Burns there, and the winner of that fights me. Or Colby can wait.
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SI: You have a long-standing feud with Jorge Masvidal. He retired after his loss to Burns at UFC 287. Was there a feeling of disappointment when he retired now that you no longer can compete against Masvidal?
LE: That’s a fight I wanted. The fans wanted to see it, as well. But Jorge fumbled the bag. If he beat Gilbert, that would have been the fight to make. There is a story there between us, but he fumbled the bag. I’m just getting into the prime of my career, and he was at the end, but it still would have been a great fight.
SI: Roman Reigns didn’t fumble the bag at WrestleMania. I know you’re a Roman fan. Were you happy he defeated Cody Rhodes?
LE: WrestleMania was great. I met Roman backstage last year, and he’s a class act. He is a great champion.
SI: A second title defense allows you to seize better control of the division. Do you have a preference for your opponent, whether it is Covington, Burns or Muhammad?
LE: They’re all similar, but this isn’t about them. They need to stop sitting on the sidelines complaining. I fought 10 fights before I fought for the title. Guys win one fight now and think they should get a title shot.
It’s my time. I’ve put God first and I’ve put in the work, and I’m excited to compete as champion.
Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.
