5 of the best fighters from England right now
1. Leon Edwards
UFC welterweight champion and Birmingham's own Leon "Rocky" Edwards has not only established himself as one of the best talents to recently emerge from England, but as one of the current best pound for pound fighters period.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Edwards moved to Birmingham at age nine with his parents in search of a better life. Unfortunately, things were not that easy at first as Edwards fell in with bad crowds and got into trouble himself until finding MMA at age 17 thanks to his mother's influence.
Edwatds' dynamic kickboxing soon caught the UFC's attention and he made his debut with the promotion at 8-1 in 2014. Despite dropping his first UFC fight via split decision, Edwards rebounded with an eight-second knockout win in his very next contest against Seth Baczynski. His only other UFC loss came after his wrestling inexperience was exploited by being out grappled by eventual champion, Kamaru Usman.
Since that loss, Edwards has fixed the holes in his game and eventually rematched Usman, then the long-reigning welterweight champion at UFC 278. Edwards shocked the world, capturing the title with a minute left in the fifth round via one of the most dramatic come from behind head kick knockout wins in UFC history. Rocky completed the trilogy, defending the belt against Usman at UFC 286 in London, solidifying himself as champion and proving his previous victory was no fluke.
The 32-year-old champion holds and MMA record of 21-3 (1) and is 13-1 (1) with the UFC. Though originally considered not to be a marketable star due to his quiet demeanor and fighting style, Edwards has proven himself to be one of the UFC's strongest competitors and the best fighter from England at the time of writing.
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