Welterweight champion Leon Edwards sits down with ESPN’s Alexis Nunes ahead of his trilogy fight vs. Kamaru Usman at UFC …
all right Leon big man we’re back we’re back and we’re proud because the last I mean it’s the third time I’m talking to you now or the last two times I mean the first time was on zoom and and you’re just hoping and wanting people to kind of give you the respect you felt you deserve to get a big name fight second time we’re trying to get the Taron Woodley thing over the line it was covered the ups and downs the stress the drama but here we are now third time’s a charm like I said world champion I mean I personally couldn’t be proud of course but um just talk me through the last you know two three years because that growth has has definitely been exactly everything you promised you would do yeah exactly I think you you put it all into words then you know just the the ups and downs of of my career in the last two two or three years um going through the pandemic through covet um I haven’t put out some fights I’ve only made my first main event with Tom Woodley having it possible because of covid um yeah it’s been a lot of ups and downs but now here we are um the Royal Champion what I’ve been saying um for the last hour long you know I I am the best and um yeah I had to prove it last year you have to prove it and I mean now that you get to look at that built um time I see the big smile on your face already what’s changed how much has changed have you changed um I’ve changed much what for that yeah yeah yeah there’s more people more cousins I have more cousins um I got way more people noticing me I get the like stuff like going to like gq’s and um stuff like that BBC Personality yeah um so you get like the fun part of it as well um but yeah as far as that me changing not much school that’s exactly it definitely keeps you grounded I’m sure everybody at home yeah 100 I think that’s all like being in Birmingham as well yeah like there’s something like a million times you know but even though they’re proud of me it’s just like after a while he’s like okay it’s Leona’s house I’ll see you soon every day so it’s not too bad more than like living I think London would probably wear so somewhere else you know and then physically [Music] going through the last couple of years and now you are on a hike yeah but they say that you tend to learn more from those Downs that I know feel like losses sometimes yeah exactly but like I feel like me going through the the pandemic me going through the ups and downs prepare me for that fight you know prepare me for even though I’ve done in the scorecards is just not giving up on myself and keep keep grinding and until you you find a way out which I always do and that’s what I did if I find I found a victory um even though it was all gone against me you know so I feel like like I said in two years prepare me for that um we’re going through that time um obviously everyone oh my I’m Still Human you know so um but yeah I wouldn’t change it for the world what I went through and just life in general and I believe everything I’ve been for a reason and then I mean that fighter how much times do you watch it over um we’re probably not a full fight what’s like a few times but it’s the highlights like I’m gonna take my social media and highlights almost a bit like a million times to finish you know and um yeah what kick it was it was honestly just an amazing face I think amazing result literally the the climax I think everybody wanted all of your supporters wanted so then people will probably wonder you know after that you’d feel like you have nothing else to prove but we have the rematch now so um why is that something you wanted to do um because I feel that that wasn’t my best performance and I feel like there’s a lot more that I’ve could have could have offered and should have offered and I get to do it back home in the UK that’s something you wanted from day one from day one yeah it’s like every kid’s dream if you go to like a Mexican martial arts German what would be like your ideal scenario to fight it would be this it’d be like Defending Your World Championship back home in your country in a practice Arena where all the fans on your side and this is this is how you you write it you know so um yeah it’s gonna be an um a spectacle called march to say the least because again I suppose an opponent that you know very very well I know um you know you’ve been on the losing side and you’ve been on The Winning Side as well um and you know what they say that iron sharpens iron just tell me through I suppose what you admire as well about this man and then probably where you feel you have grown to become the perfect opponent for him because I know even just yesterday you were saying you feel like he’s been up there we know that he has been undefeated for so long yeah but now it’s almost time to pass that torch on to you because you’re the next big man yeah exactly exactly that um yeah I feel like they come a time in this is Sports in general but there’s there’s a pass at a button right and I feel like it’s me you know I’ve said it from time to time again uh proven it I respect Usman as a competitor I know he’s I know he’s a good fighter I’m not the like the lady and I know he was the power part number one and um I know he’s good but I was truly believe that I am bad you know and just I prove I proved it last year and I’ll I’ll prove it again come March you know I can’t I’m gonna draw that energy from the crowd I’m enjoy The Confidence from me knowing that I can knock him out no one I can take him down I’ve joined all that confidence going into the next fight and I’m using all that to yeah for another headshot oh that’s exactly what we’re watching because I know everyone talks so much about how your style is the perfect one to get the better of it yeah you know and I mean to get it more than once is easier said than done we do know that and we’re not expecting a tough one again in this but what where do you think you have the perfect Edge just my my IQ you know um I think it showed in in the fifth round even though I was down um but I could still use my for IQ to to land that shot you know um also for my skill set I think I’m well rounded everywhere the the fight goes on the feet in the grappling on the on the ground um I finished showed in the first round of the fight um when I’m the first person to take him down took us back with his um it was evident I was the bad guy under when I’m on top you know um so yeah his from just the all of it come together I have a mentality as well I think all of it come together um I feel I’m the perfect opponent not just for him just to be the the best the risk to be you know and without giving away any of your secrets um I suppose how do you approach this one any differently because like you said you felt overall it wasn’t your best performance last time but you still got that that that win yeah but this time how do you you know go about it it’s not not making the fight um as hard for myself as I did in the second fight um just going about it more more calculate um it’s difficult to say because obviously ignore you again yeah exactly um but it’s there’s a lot that I’ve could have done I should have done that didn’t they in that fight that I know that I can do come to come next fight you know and um I’m sure he didn’t go back with his team as well and work and stuff that you think that you should have could have done as well so it doesn’t makes it an interesting third fight you know that he believes is better than me and I believe I’m better than him and come much you get to see I know that’s going to be interesting what’s the latest you’re hearing I suppose from his side as well um like what you’re expecting from him this this time around obviously coming off of someone like Kamara you know they say can be like a a scorpion when you buy them into a corner they come out 10 times as strong so what do you expect yeah um I don’t know it’s difficult because when the reality is that is five five six years old his final start won’t change drastically in one of the August to March it won’t change drastically you can only implement certain a certain way he wants to fight the fight which is probably the heavier wrestling maybe anything that plays into your hands those come out more aggressive that players in demands as well you know um so I’m not really I’m not really focused much on what is and do I need to like sit on my team um and just get what we need to get writing um go out there and yeah get a victory again do you feel like you’re the favorite going into this one because you’re the world champion even though everyone still says yeah don’t forget his track record which you know we all know but you’re the world champion yeah but it’s track record is is just as good as much are working so it means I gotta the most wins in in the whole in the whole division handing each other losses yeah you know so there’s nothing and his record that’s not on my record the most wins I’ve got it as a he beat me before my points I knocked him out like this there’s nothing that I can can like say oh because I’ve done this that and I need to be careful of him you know I mean he’s just like I said as long as I fight smart and I’m gonna fight smart um listen to my team have a great a great trading Camp then March 18th would be a fantastic night