This Month’s MMA Birthdays: Leon Edwards Turns 30

Brian KnappAug 15, 2021

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Few mixed martial artists have exercised patience like Leon Edwards, a longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight contender who turns 30 on Aug. 25.

A former British Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion, Edwards joined the UFC roster in 2014 and has since compiled a stellar 11-2 record in the 170-pound weight class. However, a title shot has thus far eluded the Team Renegade representative despite his sustained excellence within the division. Edwards currently finds himself on a 10-fight unbeaten streak—he has gone 9-0 with one no contest—that spans nearly six years. “Rocky” last appeared at UFC 263, where he laid claim to five-round unanimous decision over Nate Diaz in their June 12 co-feature. Edwards now awaits word on his next assignment from UFC matchmakers and continues to a chase a rematch with the last man to defeat him: current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

Others in MMA celebrating a birthday during the month of August:

AUG. 1

Kaleo Kwan, 48
Kevin Asplund, 46
Jason Von Flue, 46
Dominic Clark, 36
Gegard Mousasi, 36
Jenel Lausa, 33
Aurel Pirtea, 33
David Zawada, 31
David Mundell, 30
Ricardo Ramos, 26

AUG. 2

Glyan Alves, 1992-2020
Krzysztof Soszynski, 44
Jeff Hougland, 43
Aleksander Emelianenko, 40
Nick Diaz, 38
Zak Cummings, 37
Ashley Cummins, 34
Magomed Mustafaev, 33
Tanner Boser, 30
Jose Torres, 29

AUG. 3

Eric Esch, 55
Johnny Eduardo, 43
Jared Combs, 42
Carey Vanier, 40
Aleksandar Radosavljevic, 38
Neil Magny, 34
Amanda Bell, 33
Khusein Khaliev, 33
Ben Nguyen, 33
Trent Girdham, 24

AUG. 4

Art Jimmerson, 58
Dhafir Harris, 44
Duane Ludwig, 43
Iuri Alcantara, 41
Bryan Caraway, 37
Jared Rosholt, 35
Oluwale Bamgbose, 34
Jonathan Meunier, 34
Paul Sass, 33
Ray Borg, 28

AUG. 5

Tokimitsu Ishizawa, 53
Sean Sherk, 48
Peter Graham, 46
Daniel Roberts, 41
Dmitry Smoliakov, 39
Lissette Neri, 34
Dustin Pague, 34
Ian Heinisch, 33
Mladen Kujundzic, 32
Nathaniel Wood, 28

AUG. 6

Igor Vovchanchyn, 48
Patrick Mikesz, 47
Tracy Hess, 44
Charles McCarthy, 41
Chris Beal, 36
Daniel Pineda, 36
Minoru Takeuchi, 36
Dan Ige, 30
Trevin Giles, 29
Pedro Carvalho, 26

AUG. 7

Johil de Oliveira, 52
Brian Gassaway, 49
Edwin Dewees, 39
Henry Martinez, 38
Demi Deeds, 37
Martin Begley, 36
Aaron Webb, 35
John Ott, 34
Ante Delija, 31
Diego Barbosa, 27

AUG. 8

Mike Budnik, 47
Yusuke Imamura, 45
Shayna Baszler, 41
Benny Madrid, 41
Alberto Emiliano Pereira, 37
Damir Hadzovic, 35
Danny Mitchell, 35
Damon Jackson, 33
Mairbek Taisumov, 33
Armando Villarreal, 32

AUG. 9

Jarrod Bunch, 53
Hugo Duarte, 53
Kerry Schall, 50
Matt Hamilton, 48
Kyle Watson, 42
Cary Bullos, 38
Attila Vegh, 36
C.J. Keith, 35
Shamil Gamzatov, 31
Alexa Grasso, 28

AUG. 10

Kevin Randleman, 1971-2016
Robin Black, 52
C.B. Dollaway, 38
Chi Lewis-Parry, 38
Randa Markos, 36
Joe Proctor, 36
Oliver Enkamp, 30
Tyler Hill, 30
Azam Gaforov, 28
John Douma, 25

AUG. 11

Joe Rogan, 54
Chase Gormley, 38
Abdul Razak Alhassan, 36
Henry Corrales, 35
Alex Huddleston, 35
Artem Lobov, 35
Ev Ting, 32
Emmanuel Sanchez, 31
Rolando Dy, 30
Alex Gorgees, 26

AUG. 12

Koji Kitao, 58
Frankie Saenz, 41
Pearl Gonzalez, 35
Tadahiro Harada, 35
Norma Rueda Center, 34
Stephanie Egger, 33
Baysangur Vakhitov, 30
Mike Hamel, 29
Rasul Edilov, 22

AUG. 13

Solomon Hutcherson, 49
Nik Lentz, 37
Jonathan Brookins, 36
Russell Doane, 35
Kate Jackson, 35
Demetrious Johnson, 35
Ronys Torres, 35
Weili Zhang, 32
Kyle Estrada, 31
Joe Gigliotti, 28

AUG. 14

Takahiro Oba, 45
Derrick Noble, 43
Ricardo Funch, 41
Moyses Gabin, 41
Joseph Henle, 38
Brylan Van Artsdalen, 37
Mark Holst, 36
Yahir Reyes, 36
Colton Smith, 34
Kay Hansen, 22

AUG. 15

Larry Parker, 58
Jason Black, 49
Katsuhisa Fujii, 49
Marcus Jones, 48
Amir Khillah, 42
Valmir Lazaro, 36
Rodrigo Vargas, 36
Justin Rader, 35
Ava Knight, 33
Andy Enz, 30

AUG. 16

Rulon Gardner, 50
Hiroya Takada, 44
Ron Faircloth, 42
Byron Bloodworth, 38
Mickael Lebout, 34
Tecia Torres, 32
Nick Barnes, 31
Joe Madrid, 31
Alex Morono, 31
Patrick Mix, 28

AUG. 17

Masaaki Satake, 56
Carlos Newton, 45
Valentijn Overeem, 45
Leslie Smith, 39
Philipe Lins, 36
Hector Aldana, 33
Kirill Sidelnikov, 33
Andrew Leone, 32
Richie Smullen, 30
Jamie Mullarkey, 27

AUG. 18

Chris Lytle, 47
Chad Robichaux, 46
Sergei Kharitonov, 41
Geronimo dos Santos, 41
Josh Tyler, 38
Gian Villante, 36
Miesha Tate, 35
Joanna Jedrzejczyk, 34
Sergio Pettis, 28
Ismail Naurdiev, 25

AUG. 19

Ricco Rodriguez, 44
Kyle Bradley, 39
Stipe Miocic, 39
Brian Kelleher, 35
Jon delos Reyes, 34
Priscila Cachoeira, 33
Krzysztof Jotko, 32
Julianna Pena, 32
Mizuki Inoue, 27
Jake Matthews, 27

AUG. 20

Dorian Price, 44
Sonny Luque, 40
Tom Speer, 37
Sheldon Westcott, 37
Billy Giovanella, 36
Elizabeth Phillips, 35
Emil Meek, 33
Jon Neal, 33
Gleristone Santos, 33
Justin Vargas, 32

AUG. 21

Nathan Jones, 51
Alex Reid, 46
Dave Jansen, 42
Daniel Sarafian, 39
Zachary Micklewright, 35
Shoko Sato, 34
Alexandre Almeida, 33
Kana Watanabe, 33
Leah Letson, 29
Luis Henrique Barbosa de Oliveira, 28

AUG. 22

Hideo Tokoro, 44
Pat Runez, 42
Ryan Janes, 40
Justin Buchholz, 38
Magomed Bibulatov, 33
Niklas Backstrom, 32
Mayra Bueno Silva, 30
Dillon Danis, 28
Joseph Morales, 27
Nasrat Haqparast, 26

AUG. 23

Brock Larson, 44
Damien Trites, 42
Scott McAfee, 38
Josh Huber, 36
Moshe Rand, 34
Bryan Billiot, 33
Robert Watley, 32
Andrey Koreshkov, 31
Bea Malecki, 30
Miguel Baeza, 29

AUG. 24

James Toney, 53
Dan Henderson, 51
Trevor Prangley, 49
Dong Sik Yoon, 49
Marcus Davis, 48
Hayato Sakurai, 46
Francisco Trinaldo, 43
Charles Rosa, 35
Jake Heun, 34
Ryan Spann, 30

AUG. 25

Allen Berube, 47
Jeremy Horn, 46
Enrique Watson, 43
Danny Castillo, 42
Mark Holata, 39
Piotr Hallmann, 34
Giga Chikadze, 33
Ryan Benoit, 32
Tsogookhuu Amarsanaa, 31
Leon Edwards, 30

AUG. 26

Hermes Franca, 47
Denis Sobolev, 46
Erik Apple, 44
Steve Byrnes, 42
Paul Barrow, 36
Josenaldo Silva, 35
Lance Benoist, 33
Ketlen Vieira, 30
Amanda Ribas, 28
Canaan Kawaihae, 24

AUG. 27

Ryuichi Murata, 45
Kamal Shalorus, 44
Gavin Sterritt, 42
Amir Sadollah, 41
Lew Polley, 40
Akira Corassani, 39
Ryan Couture, 39
Shahbulat Shamhalaev, 38
Manny Lara, 34
Joe Solecki, 28

AUG. 28

Deividas Taurosevicius, 44
Jesse Bongfeldt, 41
Anthony Ferguson, 41
Karo Parisyan, 39
Louis Gaudinot, 37
Rick Story, 37
Jon Tuck, 37
Pat Schilling, 33
Geoff Neal, 31
Carls John de Tomas, 25

AUG. 29

George Kleber, 44
Gabe Ruediger, 44
Tyrone Glover, 42
Vinicius Kappke de Queiroz, 38
Kelly Anundson, 37
Robert Neal, 37
Jonathan Nunez, 36
Kassius Kayne, 35
Motonobu Tezuka, 34
Donnie Bell, 31

AUG. 30

Rambaa Somdet, 47
Eric Prindle, 45
Justin Haskins, 42
Barb Honchak, 42
Neil Seery, 42
Cole Escovedo, 40
Joe Brammer, 38
Jim Miller, 38
Josh Quayhagen, 35
Kyle Prepolec, 32

AUG. 31

Sami Aziz, 49
Herbert Goodman, 44
Ido Pariente, 43
Lionel Lanham, 41
Will Martinez, 41
Daniel Omielanczuk, 39
Pat Curran, 34
Alexis Dufresne, 31
Ricky Simon, 29
Mark De La Rosa, 27