The current UFC welterweight champion, Leon "Rocky" Edwards, has a career record of 20 wins, 3 defeats, and 1 no-contest.
Follow Us
Leon Aaron Edwards was born on August 25, 1991. He is a trained mixed martial artist from England. He is the current UFC Welterweight Champion and fights in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Edwards has been a professional fighter since 2011. Prior to that, he competed for BAMMA, where he held the title of BAMMA Welterweight Champion. He is third in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings as of November 14, 2022.
Edwards was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in a one-room home with his parents and brother. He grew raised in a violent neighborhood where his father engaged in what he calls “questionable things.” At the age of nine, Edwards relocated to Birmingham, England’s Aston district, and at the age of thirteen, his father was fatally murdered in a London nightclub. His mother convinced him to join an MMA club when he was 17 years old. Prior to that, he had been involved in illegal behavior such as drug trafficking, street fighting, and knife possession along with his social group.
Edwards fought Claudio Silva at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Saint Preux in 2014 to make his UFC debut. At UFC Fight Night 64, he defeated Seth Baczynski in the first round via KO after only eight seconds.
At UFC on Fox 17 in 2015, he eventually met Kamaru Usman, the eventual champion, and lost to “The Nigerian Nightmare” by a unanimous decision. However, except for one no-contest against Belal Muhammad in 2021, Leon Edwards went on to win every single UFC bout from that point forward.
At UFC 278 when he was slated to face Kamaru Usman again in his rematch, “Rocky” was given the opportunity to compete for the welterweight championship. Both fighters squared off in the eagerly awaited rematch, with Edwards prevailing by way of KO and taking the crown.
READ MORE: What is Kamaru Usman’s Networth 2023, Earnings, Endorsements
The Sports Daily estimates Leon Edwards’ net worth to be $1.5 million. The majority of Edwards’ wealth comes from his accomplishments in the UFC octagon. He also earns a large sum of money from the several sponsorship agreements that the welterweight champion participates in. For his matchup with Kamaru Usman at UFC 278, Leon Edwards received a base pay of $350,000. He also received a $50,000 performance incentive and a $32,000 sponsorship, for a total of $430,000 in earnings.
Iconic Menswear, Venum, and Monster Energy all endorse Leon Edwards. Edwards is associated with the youth organization OnSide in the UK. Their goal is to build “Youth Zones,” or amenities, in the UK’s most underdeveloped areas. Its objective is to regularly provide young people with inexpensive access to a range of opportunities and activities.
