Leon Edwards interview: 'Being champion is amazing. Now I want to be greatest of all time'

Having ascended the summit, Leon Edwards is determined to stay there. And, what’s more, seal his place in combat-sports history.

“For me, my goal is now to be the greatest of all time,” the UFC welterweight champion tells The National following a coaching seminar at Falcons MMA in Dubai, where he tutored, offered advice, answered questions, signed autographs and posed for a stream of photographs.

The UFC belt, recently acquired courtesy of an instant-classic knockout of the apparently indomitable Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 in August, was never far from view.

“It's amazing,” Edwards says. “It still feels so real. It's been such a long journey to get to this point. And now to be feeling the love from the fans and people coming up to me and saying how inspirational my story is, it's an amazing feeling.

“I'm proud of myself, what we've achieved. Just staying dedicated to that journey, believed in myself from the start. Even through the ups and downs, I still said I’ll be No 1. And now we're here it's an incredible feeling.”

The journey has been remarkable. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, to a teenage mother and a gang-leader father, Edwards and family relocated to the UK in 2000.

In 2004, Edwards’ father was shot dead in London when his son was 13 and, when the young teenager turned ever more towards a life of crime, his mother pushed him into sport. Edwards took up MMA in Birmingham at 17.

“The most special moment since becoming champion was taking the belt back to my mum and my family, showing them what I've achieved, what I set for myself and I've achieved it,” he says. “I said to my mum when I was 17 and I think you seen it with the phone call after [the Usman victory] … I was like, ‘Mum I did it’.

“Because I told her when I was