Leon Edwards largely was overcome with emotion after his come-from-behind knockout for the ages at UFC 278.
Down 3-1 on the scorecards and less than a minute away from a decision loss to welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (20-2 MMA, 15-1 UFC), Edwards (20-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) pulled off a stunner with a head-kick knockout to win the title in a major upset.
Edwards had a good first round against the champ, but then Usman had things on virtual cruise control for the next 19 minutes, right until Edwards landed his kick to shock the MMA world with just 56 seconds left in their fight in Salt Lake City.
The happy tears kept flowing for the Jamaica-born Edwards backstage at Vivint Arena when he got on the phone with his mom in England, where he has lived since he was 9.
It’s nearly impossible to make out what his mom was saying to her new champion son on the other end of the phone, but it’s reasonable to say she was out of her mind with excitement while Edwards continued to let out the emotions of his long road to UFC champion status.
Check out the behind-the-scenes video from the UFC below. If you can’t muster at least a happy smile for Edwards, who overcame a rough start to life and bad teenage decisions to thrive in MMA, then it’s safe to say you have no heart.
"Eu te disse, mãe!"
[ @Leon_EdwardsMMA | #UFC278 ] pic.twitter.com/Nc5fMrBxEK
— UFC Brasil (@UFCBrasil) August 21, 2022
Edwards, who turns 31 later this week, almost certainly will have as his first title defense a rematch with Usman, which will be their third fight. Usman won the first meeting in 2015 in his first bout after winning “The Ultimate Fighter.” He was on his way to 2-0 against Edwards in the rematch until “Rocky” extended his winning streak to 10 and snapped Usman’s at 19.
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