Add one more name to the list of welterweight title contenders. Following a unanimous-decision victory over Donald Cerrone in the main event of UFC Fight Night 132, which took place early Saturday morning in Kallang, Singapore, Leon Edwards is now a bonafide title contender at 170lbs. The Jamaican-born Brit has won six-straight fights and is 8-2 overall in the UFC, and in the stacked welterweight division is quickly starting to stand out as someone who could eventually fight champion Tyron Woodley and interim champion Colby Covington for the title in the near future.
When Edwards first came into the UFC, he was primarily a striking-based fighter who needed to learn how to wrestle. In his Octagon debut he was taken down and controlled by Claudio Silva and lost a split decision in what was a disappointing performance for him considering how dominant he was in BAMMA on his way to the UFC. In his second fight in the Octagon we saw Edwards’ potential when he brutally knocked out Seth Baczynski in just eight seconds, winning a “Performance of the Night” award in the process. He then followed that up with a decision win over Pawel Pawlak, where he showed some of his improved grappling, only to take a step backwards once again in his next fight when Kamaru Usman won a decision over him.
The loss to Usman really showed Edwards that he needed to improve his wrestling, and since that fight he’s been a completely different fighter. He showed off a well-rounded game in his win over Dominic Waters but where we really saw Edwards’ improvements was in his submission win over Albert Tumenov, which was a breakthrough win for Edwards, and he followed that up with decision wins over Vicente Luque and Bryan Barberana. That led to a fight against Peter Sobotta, and Edwards put on arguably his greatest performance in the UFC to date with a TKO win with just one second left in the third round, setting a UFC record for the latest knockout in the process. That led to Edwards getting his first main event slot against Cerrone, and he made good with his most high-profile win to date, and setting him up for another big fight at 170lbs his next time out.
After beating Cerrone, Edwards called out top-10 ranked Jorge Masvidal and Masvidal has already replied, saying he would take the fight. That’s a good matchup featuring two of the most well-rounded fighters in the welterweight division. Masvidal is universally regarded as just below the elite level at 170lbs, a position Edwards is trying to get to. If Edwards can go out there and beat Masvidal, it would say a lot about him and put him right behind the upper tier of fighters such as Woodley, Covington, Usman, Darren Till and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. It was a smart call-out by Edwards, and hopefully the UFC can book this fight with Masvidal because it makes a ton of sense, especially as a five-round main event for a Fight Night card sometime in the fall when both guys are fully healthy.
Edwards has quickly transformed into one of the most impressive welterweights in the UFC. He has strong striking, really underrated wrestling, and even has some submissions in his bag. His chin is good, he has the cardio to go a full 25 minutes, and he’s a smart fighter in the cage. At only 26-years-old, Edwards has the potential to get so much better. He’s not a finished product yet, and that says a lot considering how good he already is. Edwards may have snuck up the welterweight ladder but after beating Cerrone it’s clear he has what it takes to be a top dog at 170lbs. Now, let’s see if he gets the Masvidal fight next.
How far do you think Leon Edwards can go?
