Leon Edwards recently defended his title for the second time at UFC 296 where he won comfortably against Colby Covington. Edwards had already announced his interest in fighting at UFC 300 followed by another fight in an open stadium in Birmingham.
After Conor McGregor, who popularized the sport of MMA worldwide and especially in Europe, Edwards is now one of the most popular fighters in the UK and Europe. Edwards rose to prominence at UFC 278, where he secured a comeback head kick KO victory against Kamaru Usman.
Leon Edwards lauds Conor McGregor
Leon Edwards, one of the only three UFC champions from the UK, was recently interviewed by Simon Jordan, the former chairman of Crystal Palace F.C. On the podcast, Edwards praised Conor McGregor, while Jordan expressed concerns about McGregor’s impact on MMA and the precedent set during his UFC tenure.
“I think he is great for the sport. He has brought the sport forward for casual fans. He’s one of those guys that you’re either going to like or don’t like,” Edwards said of his opinion about McGregor.
“He did become the first-ever two-division world champion. So, even though he talks all his shit, he is actually a good fighter as well,” Edwards said of the accomplishments of the Irishman. The Notorious was the first simultaneous double champion in the UFC even though he does not have a single UFC title defense on his resume.
“For the sport, it definitely helped. It didn’t take anything away from it; it definitely gave more by pushing it towards the mainstream,” Edwards further applauded Mystic Mac as he believed that McGregor’s contribution to MMA far outweighs the controversies he created.
Leon Edwards claims GSP the best welterweight champ
The UFC’s welterweight division has boasted some of the promotion’s finest champions, including Pat Miletich, Matt Hughes, BJ Penn, Georges St-Pierre, Tyron Woodley, Kamaru Usman, and now Leon Edwards. In his interview with Simon Jordan, Edwards shared his opinion on who he considers the greatest welterweight champion in UFC history.
“My aim now is to be the best of all time. You know, I think right now, it’s GSP. His name is Georges St-Pierre, at welterweight. He’s the best welterweight of all time, in my opinion,” Edwards lauded Georges St-Pierre as the greatest welterweight champion of MMA. The Canadian St-Pierre was a two-division champion in the UFC with the majority of his success coming in the welterweight division.
“So, I’d like to beat all his records. Right now, I think he’s on like six. His record is 16 wins in a row,” Edwards stated his intention to break the record set by St-Pierre in the welterweight division. Interestingly, 16 win streak is the record set by Anderson Silva and St-Pierre’s win streak is 13 which is one more than Edwards 12.
It needs to be noted that St-Pierre is considered one of the GOATS of MMA in general due to his UFC records and as a gentleman fighter without any doping violations. For his accomplishments in the UFC, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame Class of 2020.
Do you think Leon Edwards will break the records set by George St-Pierre? Leave your prediction below!
