When British fans hailed Leon Edwards as "The king. The guide. The light" following emphatic title win at UFC 278
Leon Edwards was involved in arguably the biggest upset of the UFC's calendar year when he knocked out Kamaru Usman at UFC 278. The moment took the breath away from fans across the globe, but none more so than fans from England.
'Rocky' was born in Jamaica, but migrated to England at the age of nine. Edwards grew up in Aston, Birmingham, and was surrounded by poverty. But the UFC welterweight champion was able to rise up against the odds and inspired millions in Britain.
To commemorate the incredible moment, UFC on BT Sport posted a video on Twitter which recapped Edwards' remarkable achievement. Scenes from moments after he knocked Usman out were shown, with voiceovers from fans explaining what his victory meant to them being played over the footage.
One fan in particular declared 'Rocky' as "the king" as he attempted to put into words just how incredible Leon Edwards' achievement was:
"Where he came from is true poverty. It's, you know Birmingham is a complete contradiction. What he's done for the people, for the city, he's the king! He's the guide. He's the light."
Watch the video below:
This is why we LOVE MMA 🤩
Rewinding to the reaction from the British fans to @Leon_edwardsmma winning UFC gold...GOOSEBUMPS 🇬🇧🇯🇲❤️
(Via Ringer MMA Show)
#BestOf2022 https://t.co/o8kTN3RP92
Many had written Leon Edwards off before the fight started and didn't give him a chance of beating a dominant champion like Kamaru Usman. As the fight progressed through the rounds, it appeared that those predictions were correct, as 'The Nigerian Nightmare' dominated 'Rocky' for most of the contest.
But with a minute remaining in round five, Edwards landed 'the head kick of all head kicks' to put Usman to sleep.
Kamaru Usman wants to fight Leon Edwards in London in early 2023
Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman will likely be fighting within the first quarter of 2023.
The UFC has not released any official information regarding a possible trilogy fight between the pair, but UFC 286 has been arranged to take place in London on March 18.
'The Nigerian Nightmare' believes that a matchup on the UFC 286 card would be the perfect time to try and reclaim the title he lost. Usman recently spoke to TMZ Sports and said the following:
"Yeah I go grab [the belt] back probably at the top of next year. Of course like I said that night, I would love to go to England and do this in England. I've got a lot of fans in England, so I think it only makes sense."
Watch the interview below (1:00):