Leon Edwards Losses: Who Has Defeated The UFC Star?

Leon Edwards has been a phenomenal fighter in the UFC with multiple promotional titles to his name. ‘Rocky’ defeated the boogeyman of the welterweight division AKA Kamaru Usman in a last-minute dramatic finish at UFC 278 to claim his title. He has since defended his title twice and was on a 12-fight win streak until his last fight. ‘Rocky’s striking is also a sight to behold because of the fluidity and effortlessness with which he puts together combinations.

But is Edwards an undefeated fighter? Well, not exactly. ‘Rocky’ has faced defeat in the MMA cage a handful of times. So, who has defeated the former welterweight champion? Let’s dig in to understand.

Who has Leon Edwards lost to?

Leon Edwards hails from Kingston, Jama͏ica, and at the age of 13, his family made the move to England. At 17, he embarked on his MMA journey after his mother, with a thoughtful perspective, enrolled him in an MMA club. This decision was driven by her desire to keep him away from potential challenges that come with loving in the tough neighborhood they resided in.

Despite Rocky’s remarkable achievements, his path to success saw its fair share of challenges, including four defeats in his professional MMA career. Edwards’ first loss was under the banner of UK MMA when he started his MMA career in 2012. He had 2 wins as a professional mixed martial artist before facing his first defeat which came by way of a disqualification against Delroy McDowell at Fight UK 5, via an illegal knee. The illegal knee left McDowell in a very bad position, requiring immediate medical attention in the cage.

Edwards’ second loss came via a split decision in his UFC debut when he fought Claudio Silva. He had 7 wins on his record by the time he debuted in the premier MMA promotion’s Octagon against Silva. Unfortunately, the Brazilian fighter outscored ‘Rocky’ in their fight at UFC Fight Night 56. His third loss came against one of his biggest rivals to date, the welterweight great Kamaru Usman. The duo shared the Octagon for the first time at UFC on FOX 17, and Usman managed to secure the win via a unanimous decision.

After that, the Jamaican-Englishman went on a 12-fight win streak. During that time, he took over the mantle of the welterweight champion and defended the title twice against Usman and Colby Covington. However, his last bout ended up adding to his fourth and final loss in the UFC. Let’s study the loss a bit closely. 

How did Leon Edwards lose his belt?

It was UFC 304 when Edwards and Belal Muhammad faced each other for the second time in the Octagon. The last time they fought, the bout was declared a no-contest because of eye pokes. But the next time they met, the story turned against ‘Rocky’. Muhammad showcased an authoritative performance, mixing in his impeccable grappling and striking. Even though Edwards tried to turn the bout around in the third round, putting Muhammad in an RNC, the Palestinian champion escaped the submission attempt. Muhammad held his ground even after getting hit with Edwards’ best strikes. Ultimately, the Palestinian-American won the bout via a unanimous decision and became the new welterweight champion.

Weighing in on his defeat during a conversation with Ariel Helwani, ‘Rocky’ said, “My reactions were slow, you know. I could think in my head what I wanted to do, what I trained to do, but for some reason, my body and my mind just weren’t in sync as they normally are in fights. Like I said, competing, I think I walked out at 5:00 a.m. It felt like someone woke me up and said, ‘Okay, go fight.’ You got to go and fight, you know what I mean? Then I got in there. But as I said, it is what it is. Even though he got the win, it was still a close fight.” 

Nevertheless, Edwards still has a chance to get back at the 170-lb title. Now, he’s set to fight Sean Brady at UFC London. And with a win against Brady, there’s a pretty high possibility of him getting a shot at the welterweight title and becoming a 2-time champion of the division. And that’s the reason why the hype around the event is so high. 

What are your thoughts on Edwards’ latest defeat? Do you think he can bounce back and get a victory at UFC London? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.