Leon Edwards' mum forced him into MMA to avoid same fate as murdered father and became UFC welterwei
Leon Edwards is on top of the world right now as he prepares to defend his UFC welterweight title at London’s iconic O2 Arena.
‘Rocky’ overcame the odds to beat Kamaru Usman last year whom he will rematch in front of his compatriots at UFC 286 on Saturday night.
However, things have not always been so good for the popular MMA star.
Edwards was born in Jamaica and spent his first nine years living in a hut surrounded by crime and poverty before relocating to the UK with his family.
He told ESPN in 2019: “As a kid growing up in Jamaica, all you see is crime, drugs, killing, shooting, poverty. Day in and day out. I’ve never seen someone get shot in front of my face, but I’ve seen people who were hit with bullets running to get away.
“Killing became normal to me as a kid. Hearing gunshots was normal; it did not faze me. When you’re playing outside in Jamaica and you hear gunshots, you don’t run and hide.
“You just look, and if it’s nowhere near you, you carry on with your day. That was it. It is a part of life. We didn’t know any better.”
Unfortunately, violence remained a part of Edwards’ upbringing despite moving to England in search of a better life.
Most read in MMA
He added: “When I was 14, my father was murdered,” he said. “He was shot and killed at a nightclub in London. It was something to do with money. I don’t know what exactly. It was some mad s***, but I knew that it could happen.
“But that didn’t make it any easier. It f***ed me up. It pushed me more into gang life and crime, toward the negative. My mid-teens were my darkest years.
“My crew was involved with fights, robberies and stabbings. We sold some drugs. We smoked weed and drank, a bit. I was arrested a few times, for fights and having a knife.
“It was mostly fighting. I fought to defend friends, I fought to intimidate, and I fought because of beefs. I fought all the time. That’s why my nickname is ‘Rocky.’ I got that from school. That’s before I got into MMA. I got it just from scrapping in the streets.”
At 17, Edwards took up MMA when his mother recommended the sport to him in a desperate attempt to steer her son away from a life of crime.
Edwards told BT Sport in August 2022: "She was the one that got me into MMA, even though she didn't do it for a career path.
“She did it to basically save her son from getting involved deeper into going to prison, or dead, or stabbed, or I could have been doing, like I said, life in prison.
“You know, so she did it from that part of her heart, but by God's grace it turned out to be a career for me."
After reaching the pinnacle of the sport by ruthlessly knocking out Usman at UFC 278, Edwards was caught on camera breaking down in tears during a post-fight phone call with his mother.
The 31-year-old revealed that he’s used his UFC money to spoil the woman who enabled him to escape poverty and avoid a life of crime to become an MMA champion.
Edwards revealed to Sky Sports: "I gave her a car before, but this time she wanted like a restaurant. She’s a very good cook, she loves cooking.
Read More on talkSPORT
“I kept saying I can get someone to work in there for you, but she said no, I want to work there, and I want to cook there – she wants to do it.”
Win or lose at UFC 286, Edwards’ mother will be proud of the champion she helped mould and he’ll almost certainly be getting her another lavish gift following a career-high payday.
ncG1vNJzZmiskaG4tLzOq6tnm5%2BifLS8zquraKWdlnxyf5VpaG5uX6GysLqMnpuwmaKZwG651KZknZmUYsKnr4xrb29lk52urrzIqKVo