As a former UFC Welterweight Champion and one of the best 170-pound fighters of the past five years, we decided to take a deep dive into the MMA career of Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards. Read on to find out more about the Leon Edwards record, his UFC Title record, knockout ratio and full MMA resumé.
Leon Edwards Record Currently Stands At 22-4 (1 NC) With Three UFC Title Victories
Leon Edwards turned professional back in 2011, winning his debut MMA contest via first round knockout. Since then, Edwards has had another 26 professional MMA fights, winning all but four of them.
Leon Edwards’ career has been nothing short of magnificent to date. The 33-year-old is the former UFC Welterweight Champion, as well as being the leading star of UK MMA.
‘Rocky’ is without a doubt one of the most skilful welterweights in the UFC, of that there is no question. His career up to now has been sensational, and he still has some potentially huge nights ahead of him before he hangs up his gloves for good.
As previously mentioned, Leon Edwards made his professional MMA debut around 14 years ago now. He had nine fights before signing with Dana White and the UFC as an 8-1 welterweight prospect.
Edwards’ UFC debut didn’t go according to plan though, losing to Claudio Silva via split decision in November 2014. However, ‘Rocky’ most definitely didn’t let that loss define him. Instead, he bounced back with back-to-back wins in 2015 before a showdown with Kamaru Usman to end the year.
This would of course end up being the first of three battles between Usman and Edwards, with the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ winning the first contest via unanimous decision. However, after that the Leon Edwards MMA record grew and grew, with eight years of nothing but wins in the UFC.
After suffering his second defeat in the UFC to Usman, Edwards didn’t lose on of his next 13 fights. He won 12 of them convincingly, with the other being ruled a ‘no contest’ due to an accidental eye poke. Quite a remarkable change of fortunes for the English MMA phenom.
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The Leon Edwards Record Includes 12 Fight Winning Streak In The UFC
With the Leon Edwards fight record now improving at a rapid rate, he notched up some standout victories over top contenders and former UFC greats. During his 12 fight winning run, ‘Rocky’ defeated the likes of Vincente Luque, Donald Cerrone, Gunnar Nelson, Nate Diaz and former UFC king Rafael dos Anjos.
With the Leon Edwards record now at 19-3 (1 NC), he finally got his maiden UFC Title shot. Leon Edwards headlined at UFC 278 against former foe Kamaru Usman, who had of course already beaten Edwards seven years prior and who was the long-reigning champion at 170-pounds.
The fight wasn’t going Edwards way at all, with it looking like Usman was going to make yet another successful UFC Welterweight Title defence. However, in the dying seconds of the fight, ‘Rocky’ landed a perfectly timed head-kick, rendering Usman unconscious meaning he was officially the new king at 170-pounds.
Leon Edwards’ crowning night made him in August 2022, and remains one of the most jaw-dropping finishes to a fight we have ever seen in the history of MMA.
Given the fact Usman was the long-reigning champion, was winning the fight up until the dying second and had a win over Edwards from years prior, the Edwards vs Usman trilogy was signed straight away for March 2023.
This time around the 33-year-old put on a clinic, outpointing the Nigerian comfortably to make a successful defence of his 170-pound strap. Not only that, but Edwards successfully defended his UFC Welterweight Title in front of his own fans in London, England.
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Leon Edwards’ Fight Record Consists Of 7 KO’s, 12 Decision & 3 Submissions
With the Leon Edwards MMA record now at 21-3 (1 NC) after the second Usman win win, next up was the loud American Colby Covington. Edwards went into the Covington bout as the slight favourite with the best UFC betting sites, which was apparent when the two got in the octagon and it was all one-way traffic.
‘Rocky’ defeated Covington with ease, defending his UFC Welterweight Title for the second time at UFC 296 in Las Vegas in December 2023. As of today, this is Leon Edwards’ last victory inside the cage.
Last time out at UFC 304, the Englishman lost his title to Belal Muhammad. Edwards looked flat and underperformed, but will be hopefully of regaining his belt at some stage in 2025. If he does, he could go down in history as a two-time UFC champion.
That takes us up to now in the professional MMA career of Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards. The Birmingham man is still widely regarded as one of the best 170-pound fighters in the world, and will almost certainly fight for UFC gold at least once more in his career.
A title shot against the Muhammad vs Rakhmonov could be next on the cards in summer 2025. What a remarkable fighter the 33-year-old is. He is a truly special talent, as his glowing resumé proves.
Be sure to claim the various UFC betting offers and free bet deals available on the SportsCasting site ahead of Leon Edwards’ next fight.
