A biography for Leon Edwardshasn’t been written yet.
“It's not just about fighting now; it's about talking. That's not really my thing, but it's what you need to do. I have to go in there and make a impression in the fight and then I've got to make an impression when I speak after the fight.”
“Albert Tumenov was the opponent that challenged me the most, not because of his style, but more so because I had one of the worst training camps I've ever had in my career leading into that fight. I went in there with a bad back injury and I couldn't move the way I wanted to move.”
“I train in various aspects of the sport each day: Monday, for example, would be wrestling in the morning at 11, then kickboxing at five. Tuesday is a jujitsu session with strength and conditioning, while Wednesday is a sparring day. We mix it up each day.”
“There are many talented and smart kids from underprivileged backgrounds but don't get the same opportunity as a kid that has got parents that are well off.”
“I was arrested a few times, for fights and having a knife.”
“Some of the things I see on social media it's like what's going on?”
“I do it for everyone coming behind me. I told you it was possible. We can win a belt, from the U.K.”
“I know how to fight.”
“I've always been good at kicking, for some reason.”
“To headline Wembley with Usman, that would be amazing.”
“I know how hard it is to get out of the trenches; I've been there, lost friends to it, my dad to it - I lived it! If I can share my story and it helps one or two people, then I'm happy.”
“There's being confident, then there's being deluded. It's two different things.”
“I need to get that Usman fight back at some stage. That loss really helped me focus in on my training a lot more. Before that fight, I was looking everywhere for answers and I felt like I needed to travel around to get the wrestling, the grappling, or whatever it was.”
“If you told me when I was born in Jamaica, in a war zone, that I'd be UFC champion... who could have said that would happen?”
“My father was the head of the gang in the area I grew up in, but we lived in like a wooden hut with a zinc roof. We didn't have much, but everyone around you was in the same situation, so as a kid you didn't feel it. My next-door neighbour was in the same situation and so was the guy down the road.”
“The mental part of the game is huge.”
“God is on my side.”
“The only thing I need to do is keep proving the doubters wrong.”
“Ben Askren has fought nobody.”
“I love fighting in the U.K. and I get a lot of support from the fans.”