The Rocky chants echoed around the arena as the world championship was wrapped around the waist of an underdog that had defied the odds by slaying an unbeatable behemoth in an instantly immortalised moment that shocked the world.

The newly crowned champion’s voice quivered with emotion as he proudly proclaimed “I do it for the kids like me who grew up where I grew up, in the trenches. I told you its possible”.

However, it wasn’t Sylvester Stallone reprising his iconic role that stood tall in the centre of the Octagon in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was the real life Rocky, who traded street fighting and crime for mixed martial arts at the age of 17, who silenced the doubters.

The 30-year-old joins Michael Bisping in bringing a UFC championship back to the UK, becoming only the second Brit to do so, while also being the first-ever Jamaican born UFC champion.  

After years of being underrated by fans and undervalued by the promotion he calls home, Leon Edwards is the champion of the world. He’s had to fight every step of the way to achieve his dream and that fight started long before he entered an MMA gym.

Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, Edwards was surrounded by crime and poverty from an early age. Speaking to ESPN Leon said “As a kid growing up in Jamaica, all you see is crime, drugs, killing, shooting, and poverty. Day in and day out. I’ve seen people who were hit with bullets trying to get away. Killing became normal to me as a kid”.

Edwards’ family were able to emigrate to the UK when Leon was 9, moving to the Aston area of Birmingham but it was almost a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire. Birmingham was made notorious around this time through the turf war between the Burger Bar Boys and the Johnson Crew gangs.

The harsh reality for many inner-city kids in the UK is that a life of crime, poverty and violence is only round the corner with Leon and his family being no exception.

It’s well documented that his father was heavily involved in criminal activity before being murdered in a London nightclub, a tragic incident that sent the teenage Leon further into the gangster lifestyle.

Involved with a local crew that took part in “fights, robberies and stabbings”, Edwards was arrested “a few times for fighting and having a knife” and could’ve seen his name make headlines for other reasons than becoming the welterweight champion if it hadn’t of been for his mother spotting a gym that offered mixed martial arts training.

Fast forward over a decade later and Leon Edwards found himself as a perennial contender in the UFC’s welterweight division where he had to fight in a different way.

In a star-studded division featuring boisterous characters and elite specialists, Edwards had to watch the likes of Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington receive multiple (arguably unwarranted) opportunities at dethroning pound-for-pound king Kamaru Usman as he put together a ten fight unbeaten streak.

Even his big breaks felt cursed. His headline bout with Tyrone Woodley, pre Jake Paul, was curtailed by the start of the pandemic which kickstarted a less desirable streak for Leon. In the space of just over 12 months, five of Leon’s six scheduled fights were postponed or cancelled; the Woodley fight was pulled due to the world locking down, three scheduled bouts with Khamzat Chimaev were affected by both athletes contracting COVID and a huge bout with Nate Diaz was pushed back through a minor injury to Diaz.

The fight that did go ahead with Belal Muhammad ended in a no-contest after an accidental eye-poke from Edwards left Muhammad unable to continue. Even the rescheduled fight with Diaz, in which Edwards dominated the legendary Stockton Gangster, was overshadowed by a last minute shot by Diaz that wobbled Rocky to his core with Diaz even claiming that he had Edwards finished.

That bad luck was compounded by Edward’s lack of star power. Though he joins Bisping as the second British UFC champion, he hasn’t been the UK’s goldenboy at any point in his career until now. He’s had to work in the shadow of Bisping, Darren Till and even the new breed of Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann despite being arguably the most complete talent of the lot.

He was notoriously booed in front of his “home” fans in London when facing Gunnar Nelson, an incident that is unimaginable now at a UK event. It certainly won’t be the case if Rocky brings the UFC to Wembley Stadium next year.

Edwards fought through it all to finally get his hands on Kamaru Usman and a shot on the Welterweight championship. That brought another challenge to fight through and more outside noise that doubted the capabilities and credibilities of Rocky Edwards.

Usman, who had beaten Edwards earlier on in the pairs UFC career, had only got better. Under the guidance of coach Trevor Witman, Usman had become the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet, now capable of delivering career-altering knockouts on top of his unrivalled wrestling. Against Masvidal, he’d out-punched the notorious striker in stunning fashion. Against Covington, he’d out-grappled and outworked the NCAA Division I wrestler with an unnatural gas tank.

Make no mistake, the majority of questions from the media and fans in the lead up to this fight were not about if Leon could beat Usman but if Usman he could equal Georges St-Pierre’s record for title defences and if he was the Welterweight GOAT.

In the first round in Utah, Leon Edwards almost answered those questions with a defiant no as he became the first person in the UFC to take Usman down, catching him with a well-timed trip before taking the champion’s back. Edwards couldn’t quite sink in a rear-naked choke before the buzzer sounded to call the end of the round. The doubters were not silenced but they were awkwardly adjusting their ties and breathing deeply.

The greatest compliment that could have been paid to Edwards after that round was done so by Usman, as the champ reverted to the successes of old, pinning Edwards back against the cage. Leon had been able to weave out of trouble and take Usman by surprise in the first round but was now falling under the spell of the “Nigerian Nightmare”.

The immense forward pressure, strength and grappling of Kamaru Usman is a problem that nobody has ever found a solution for. Tyrone Woodley has never been the same since Usman dragged him into the depths, Masvidal was squashed with foot-stomping ease and Covington couldn’t overthrow the king.

Thought Edwards had repeatedly spoken about how much his wrestling had improved since their first meeting, as the doubters found their voice again in the crowd and at home, many people will have been questioning his decision to train primarily in England. How can someone from a country that equates wrestling more closely with WWE and World of Sport than a collegiate sport that forms the foundations of many mixed martial artists’ fightstyles, compete with one of the most overwhelming forces in the game?

It felt like the final drops of bad luck from the pandemic era were hitting Edwards as when he could find an opening to force himself out of Usman’s grasps, referee Herb Dean reprimanded him for grabbing the gloves of the champion or the cage, something Usman seemed able to do at will.

As the second, third and fourth round seemingly passed Edwards by, frozen by the pressure and battling the altitude that had drained other fighters previously in the night, he slumped on his stool and to the untrained eye looked completely dejected. His coach, Dave Lovell, launched into Edwards in an exchange that will be equally as remembered as the moment that would follow almost five minutes later.

Lovell, who has watched Edwards grow from street fighter and gangland enforcer to elite-level martial artist, spoke for every Edwards fans and the UK MMA community as he let fly at Leon. His previous pleading to make the fight ugly and to not let Usman bully him hadn’t worked so straight up passion flew from Lovell as he bellowed “Stop feeling sorry for your fucking self, come on then, what’s wrong with you, you’re two fucking down, you’ve got to pull this shit outta the fire”.

Leon had the soundtrack to his ultimate triumph and now he just had to secure it. The other side of the coin will be the commentary from analysts Din Thomas, Daniel Cormier, Joe Rogan and Jon Anik who were already writing the Edwards eulogy, Thomas claiming that Leon was “broken” and the broadcast team looking to wrap the night as Usman “closed the show out”.

It’s poetic that a man who has spent his life being written off – as a criminal, a mediocre fighter, as not a big enough name – was being written off moments before silencing every criticism in one fell swoop.

The clock ticked into the final minute as Leon Edwards threw out a quick right hand and a left that Usman parried, moving his head off the centre line and to the right in what proved to be a fatal mistake because behind that left hand, Leon Edwards was hiding the answer to every question that has ever been asked about him.

Can someone from the UK become UFC champion without moving to America? Can Leon Edwards hang with the best in the business? Has he got the power to finish top guys? Can someone born into poverty change their lives around? Can a Brit even win the welterweight title after three cracks at it? Can Leon Edwards be the champion of the world?

Leon Edwards answered them all with a resounding YES. Hiding behind that left punch was the kick heard round the world, the kick that shocked the world, the kick that knocked Kamaru Usman out cold and ended his reign of terror in the Welterweight division. HEADSHOT, BANG, DONE.

Just like Michael Bisping became Left Hook Larry after taking the belt from Luke Rockhold, Leon Edwards became Left Kick Leon, as his headkick landed on the side of Usman’s dome. In that moment, the pound-for-pound king was made mortal and Leon Edwards became the UFC Welterweight Champion of the world in one of the greatest comebacks in the sports history.

Leon was down 3-1 in stoppage time against Prime Barcelona. He was down 20 points to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls at the buzzer. He was four touchdowns behind against Tom Brady in his Patriots heyday. You can’t come back against those odds in those sports but you can in combat sports. One moment, one perfect technique changes everything.

The billy strut in celebration was followed by an in-octagon interview that will live forever. Look at me now, Leon repeated over and over again.

Look at him now, indeed.

Leon Edwards, after years of scrapping and scraping to the top, now resides at the top of the mountain. He is the poster boy of UK MMA. He’s the one who will become the first Brit to headline a stadium event on these shores and most importantly, Leon Edwards is the UFC Welterweight champion.

From a wooden house in Jamaica, to the crime-ridden high-rises of Birmingham, to the top of the world. The real life Rocky has a name and his name is Leon Edwards. Look at him now.

PHOTO CREDITS@ BT SPORT, UFC