Hailing from the same country often has the fighters supporting each other at every nook and corner. And that’s especially true when it comes to the relationship between Tom Aspinall and Leon Edwards. Even when ‘Rocky’ lost the welterweight championship title to Belal Muhammad, ‘Honey Badger’ stood in his support. Well, he did claim that the former welterweight champion didn’t look like himself at UFC 304. But he was sure that “He’ll be back.” And now, the time has come for Edwards to shine again. 

‘Rocky’ is set to lock horns with Jack Della Maddalena at UFC Fight Night 254 in London, on 22 March 2025. For that, the Kingston-born mixed martial artist has already begun training. On 17 February 2025, Edwards took to Instagram and shared a visual from his training. Therein, he can be seen acing the pad work with his fast and furious punches. Well, the fighting community was already worrying about Della Maddalena. In the caption, ‘Rocky’ wrote, “5 weeks #ufclondon #2X #champ #headshot” 

Needless to say, the interim heavyweight champion was all in to support his countrymate as he prepared for his next battle. This would determine if he’d still remain at the #1 welterweight contender’s spot or not. And if he wins, we can certainly witness Edwards fighting for the championship title once again. And Aspinall seemed to know that. On top of that, his physique looked fierce. It was as if he could take on any opponent thrown at him right at that moment. Aspinall took to the comments section and wrote, “Champs coming back 🔥.”

But did you know that to make his stance strong against the Palestinian champion, Belal Muhammad, ‘Rocky’ had to bring in help from a sleep specialist? Well, that has become a necessity for the fighters when they have to compete in a different time zone. But little did the former welterweight king know that Tom Aspinall would be stealing his sleep plan. 

Tom Aspinall planned to copy Leon Edwards’ sleep plan 

Well, UFC 304 created quite some chaos as it was scheduled to go live in the middle of the night. The main card began at around 3 am, local time. This was a major problem for the fighters. With Leon Edwards set for the main event and Aspinall for the co-main event against Curtis Blaydes, the Britishers needed the plan to ensure that they didn’t doze off during their fights. That’s where Edwards’ sleep therapist came in. 

Talking to Title Sports Network before the fight, Aspinall said, “Leon has employed a sleep specialist. I knew about this before because I know Leon’s manager, so I was kind of like, I’m not going to set anything in stone in my mind until I spoke to Leon on what he’s doing. Leon basically gave me a full breakdown of his sleep pattern. So I’m essentially going to copy Leon without paying a sleep specialist. That’s the plan. I don’t want to pay anybody, so I’m just getting the advice off Leon and I’m just following what Leon’s doing.”

While things worked out well for the interim heavyweight champion, ‘Rocky’ had to endure a defeat via decision and lost his welterweight championship belt. Nevertheless, he was sure to rise back up. With his continually evolving striking skills, we can rest assured that the fight between Edwards and Della Maddalena would be nothing short of breathtaking. But we still need to wait till March to witness the war. 

What are your thoughts on Edwards’ return to conquer the welterweight division once again? Do you think he can defeat Muhammad in a rematch? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.