Leon Edwards’ rise as a champion has not halted his pursuit to become a better mixed martial artist. He recently became a jiu-jitsu black belt after conquering the UFC welterweight division by knocking out Kamaru Usman at UFC 278.
Leon Edwards took to Instagram to announce his achievement and expressed his gratitude to his coach:
“Last night I finally got my black belt in jujitsu what a month it has been thanks again @tombjj @victorestimagb and @graciebarra the journey continues. #OSS #beltsonbelts”
Fans and colleagues alike reacted to the champion’s achievement with congratulatory messages. Edwards’ brother Fabian was foremost in offering his best wishes:
“Congrats bro 👏🔥”
Others, too, congratulated the new 170lbs king.
“Congrats man! What an accomplishment”
“CHAMPPPPP 👏🔥”
“Congrats Champ!! 🥋🏆”
“Congratulations champion! Hard work pays off, two accomplished belts in one month! Enjoy it 👊🙏”
Many fans quoted his iconic octagon speech after becoming the welterweight champion in his first-ever title bout.
“LOOK AT YOU NOW!!”
“Look at me now P4p headshot dead!!! Greatest speech ever 💥🥊”
“LOOK AT ME NOW! Yes king 👑”
Others noticed his bulging leg muscles and joked about his work ethic.
“Bro been doing his squats for sure”
Khamzat Chimaev believes Leon Edwards is avoiding him
Third-ranked welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev has his sights trained on the newly crowned champion. Chimaev also believes Leon Edwards is consciously avoiding anything to do with him.
Ahead of UFC 279, Chimaev addressed the media on media day and spoke about Edwards’ championship win. He said:
“That was an amazing performance. He showed his heart, and last minute he knocked him out. I’m happy for him. He deserved that. He worked hard. [But] he doesn’t want to talk about me. I see somebody ask my name, and he just jumps over it and speak about Diaz, speak about Masvidal, Usman, Holloway. [The] guy doesn’t want to see my face.”
While he praised ‘Rocky’ for his incredible come-from-behind win against Usman, ‘Borz’ also pointed out that Edwards is doing everything to avoid any mention of him. Chimaev absolutely blitzed his fight against Kevin Holland after missing weight and being demoted from the main event against Diaz.
The Russian-born Swede overwhelmed Holland in the first round and grappled him at an incredible pace. He eventually submitted Holland to win his sixth straight UFC fight and place himself in a strong position to contend for welterweight gold.
Catch Chimaev’s comments on Leon Edwards at UFC 279 media day:
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