Who is Leon Edwards' brother and top Bellator middleweight, Fabian Edwards?
Fabian Edwards, Leon Edwards' younger brother, is a professional mixed martial artist who competes in the middleweight division of Bellator MMA.
'The Assassin' Fabian Edwards began his amateur MMA career in July 2015. His first fight was as iconic as a debut can get. In just four seconds of the fight, Fabian Edwards won via TKO at Budo 10 - Taylor vs. Bocian.
Fabian Edwards went on to collect eight more wins as an amateur before turning pro in May 2017. He began his professional career under the banner of Bellator MMA and also fought in the British BAMMA promotion.
Fabian Edwards packs dynamic strikes and a thirst to finish his opponents. He applies constant yet passive pressure on his opponents, keeping control of the cage but not rushing into strikes.
Therefore, he went undefeated in the first nine fights of his professional MMA career, of which six came by way of finishes.
Leon Edwards is often spotted in his brother's corner, supporting him in victory and defeat.
Fabian Edwards faced the first loss of his MMA career in September 2020 at Bellator Milan: Edwards vs. van Steenis. In a closely fought battle, Edwards lost out to Costello van Steenis via split decision. The judges' scorecards for the bout read 29-28, 28-27 for Costello van Steenis and 29-28 for Leon Edwards.
Fabian Edwards most recently fought Austin Vanderford at Bellator 259: Cyborg vs. Smith 2 on May 21, 2021.
Fabian Edwards vs. Austin Vanderford: Fabian Edwards now has two losses in a row
Fabian Edwards clashed with Austin Vanderford at Bellator 259. Austin Vanderford entered the cage as an undefeated fighter against Fabian Edwards. Vanderford employed his wrestling to execute multiple takedowns and maintain top control throughout rounds one and two.
Although Fabian Edwards was able to stuff some takedown attempts, Vanderford's consistency with the grappling helped him overshadow his opponent's efforts. In round three, Austin Vanderford continued with his strategy of maintaining ground control. This time around, Fabian Edwards was able to sneak in some strikes from the bottom, but to no impactful avail.
Paige VanZant's husband, Austin Vanderford, won the fight via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), extending his undefeated MMA record to 11-0-0.
What's next for Leon Edwards?
Leon Edwards is currently on an eight-fight win streak in the welterweight division of the UFC. 'Rocky' will face Nate Diaz in the latter's return to the octagon after two long years in a featured non-title five-round bout, the first of its kind.
Leon Edwards and Nate Diaz will fight on the main card of UFC 263 on June 12, 2021.