Leon Edwards has never had it easy in his life, from his childhood in Jamaica through to a lengthy path to the UFC title.

At times it seem as though Edwards would never get a shot at the promotion’s welterweight title, despite a lengthy unbeaten run. But when he finally managed to get a rematch with Kamaru Usman, he knocked out the seemingly unbeaten ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ with one of the greatest head kicks in history.

Now, Edwards is taking charge of the 170lb division, first defeating Usman in a trilogy before stifling Colby Covington in his last outing. And he faces a stern test at UFC 304 against Belal Muhammad, with whom he fought to a no-contest in 2022.

How old is Leon Edwards?

Leon Edwards was born on August 25th, 1991, in Kingston, Jamaica, though he fights out of Erdington, Birmingham, England. He has a younger brother named Fabian who is currently in camp for a Bellator middleweight title fight. As of June 2024, he is 32 years old.

Leon Edwards height and weight

Leon Edwards is six-foot tall and fights at 170lb in the UFC’s welterweight division. However, like all MMA fighters he makes a considerable cut in order to hit that limit, with his walking around weight believed to be closer to 200lb.

Photo by Tom Jenkins/Getty Images

While Edwards doesn’t tend to post photos of his ballooning in weight after intensive cuts like other fighters, there is some evidence of his usual weight. His nutritionist Jordan Sullivan claims that after making 170lb for the Covington fight, he was 185lb within about 10 hours in time for ceremonial weigh-ins.

X/Twitter and Instagram accounts

Leon Edwards has a big presence on Instagram with 1.4m followers and you can become one of them @leonedwardsmma.

He also has 337k followers on X, formerly Twitter, @Leon-edwardsmma.

Who is Leon Edwards’ wife?

Leon Edwards may be a massive celebrity in the UK with a lot of tabloid interest, but he manages to keep his private life private very well. He has never indicated whether or not he is married, and the mother of his child Jaydon is also unknown.

Leon Edwards MMA record

W-L-D
(T)KO
Sub

22-3-0

7-0
3-0

Career stats

Significant Strikes Landed per Minute
2.75

Significant Striking Accuracy
53%

Significant Strikes Absorbed per Minute
2.34

Significant Strike Defense (the % of opponents strikes that did not land)
55%

Average Takedowns Landed per 15 minutes
1.25

Takedown Accuracy
35%

Takedown Defense (the % of opponents TD attempts that did not land)
55%

Average Submissions Attempted per 15 minutes
0.42

Data via UFC

Leon Edwards net worth

All UFC fighters’ net worths are speculated on during the build-up to their big fights. But there is little way of knowing, particularly with someone like Edwards who tends to fight in the likes of Las Vegas or London where purses are not disclosed.

There is a report from Clutchpoints that claims he is worth $1.5million, but it is likely that he is worth considerably more after multiple pay-per-view headlining world title defences.

Leon Edwards next fight

Leon Edwards will rematch Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 in the Co-Op Arena in Manchester on July 27. British fans will be forced to stay up into the middle of the night at the newly-opened venue as they push the fight for an American audience.

Edwards and Muhammad fought once before, with the Birmingham native dominating proceedings before landing an accidental eye poke. The fight was stopped and ruled a ‘no contest’.

Dana White and Leon Edwards

The relationship between Dana White and Leon Edwards was at times frosty, but it appears that any issues they had have been solved. The Brit wasn’t interested in facing Covington last time out, but his promoter forced the bout through, much like a number of fights in his career.

One event that drew the pair closer together was UFC 300, where Edwards accepted three offers to headline. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for him, but White was very complimentary of his welterweight champion after the fact.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
“Let me say this. Leon Edwards has had like three opponents through this whole thing,” White told the media. “Leon Edwards doesn’t say no to anybody. This kid is an absolute stud. He’s had like three opponents thrown at him during UFC 300.

“Yes, yes, and yes. Was willing to take on anybody. Kid’s an absolute stud. Leon, thank you. Much respect.”

Colby Covington vs Leon Edwards

Leon Edwards’ last world title defence came at UFC 296 in December. He faced the former interim champion Colby Covington, who goaded him intensely in the build-up ahead of a relatively lacklustre showing which the Brit won by decision over five rounds.

Kamaru Usman vs Leon Edwards

The Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman trilogy started on an undercard in December of 2015. After winning The Ultimate Fighter, Usman was able to utilise his phenomenal wrestling ability in order to keep Edwards down and win a comfortable decision

Edwards vs Usman 2

After years apart, Edwards and Usman were brought together again in 2022 after a lengthy unbeaten run for the Brit following their initial meeting. He had never lost after the first bout with Usman, but looked dreadful in their rematch until the final round when he landed a stunning head kick knockout.

The trilogy fight

After each winning one of their fights, and Usman winning all but one of their eight rounds, a trilogy was instantly booked. Edwards put in an even better performance against the formerly unbeatable Usman and managed to win a relatively comfortable decision in front of a home crowd in London at UFC 286.

Nate Diaz vs Leon Edwards

After years of frustration from cancelled fights to his eye poke on Belal Muhammad, Edwards finally made his return to the octagon in June of 2021. He faced Nate Diaz at UFC 263, and dominated a five round co-main event before being tagged at the end for a viral moment.

Leon Edwards vs Belal Muhammad

The initial meeting between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad happened behind closed doors at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas in March of 2021. After an impressive first round from Edwards, he poked his rival in the eye and the fight had to be stopped, resulting in a No Contest.

They run it back at UFC 304 in Manchester on July 27.

Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev

Many times during the pandemic era, Edwards was booked to face then-unranked prospect Khamzat Chimaev. They traded pullouts after contracting coronavirus, and Chimaev has arguably never fully recovered from his infection with his career dogged by health issues.

They were booked together three times, and still appear to have unfinished business after Chimaev pulled out twice. However, with Chimaev pulling out of his last fight against Robert Whittaker it remains to be seen if he will ever be back.