Leon Edwards opened a Caribbean restaurant for his mum after winning the UFC welterweight title.
Edwards, 31, knocked out former pound-for-pound No.1 Kamaru Usman with less than a minute left of their title clash last August to become the division's new champion. 'Rocky' looks to defend his newly-acclaimed belt against Usman on March 18 as the rivals meet for the third time in the UFC.
Moments after his last-gasp win in Salt Lake City, Edwards was filmed breaking down in tears whilst on the phone to his mum. The Brit made sure to give back to his loved ones after picking up the biggest win of his career and he did so for his mum by opening a restaurant for her in Walsall.
“I’m able to provide new things for my family that they want. I’ve opened a restaurant now for my mum that she wanted. I thought she would have wanted to work less probably, but for some reason she wants to work more. Business is good, I’m there as well so people pop in and see sometimes when I’m there. It’s going well and I was happy to be able to do that for my mum," Edwards said.
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The restaurant, which is called Sweet's Kitchen, serves traditional Caribbean food such as fried plantain and mutton curry. Edwards said that business is going well for the restaurant and he often pays it a visit, although he stays far away from the kitchen because he isn't too clued up on how to cook.
"It was good to give back to my mum, just to be able to do that for her. She's always mentioned it since I was young that she wanted to open a restaurant. People ask me 'what did I splurge on after my fight' but I've got everything I already need. So I got that for my mum and that made me happy, she enjoys it and it's doing well."
Edwards will look to start his reign as welterweight champion and prove his knockout win against Usman was no fluke when they meet in the deciding chapter of their trilogy. Usman beat Edwards when they first fought in December 2015 and the Brit has insisted that his rival is still his toughest challenger in the 170lb division.
“I think Usman is the hardest fight in the division. I can see it being a totally different fight from the second fight, it’s also how can he come back after the knockout. I can take confidence from knowing that I can take him down, hurt him and knock him out. I can see myself getting my hand raised again. I’m not going out there to chase the headshot and get another spectacular finish, it’s just about getting the win," he added.
