Scouting Report: Leon Edwards

Leon Edwards

Born: August 25, 1991 (Age: 30) in Kingston, Jamaica
Division: Welterweight
Height: 6’2”
Reach: 74”
Record: 19-3 (11-2 UFC)
Association: Ultimate Training Centre
Stage of Career: Prime

Summary: Edwards is not a flashy knockout artist since he lacks power in his hands, but it would be difficult to design a more skilled fighter. In the standup, he has silky smooth striking with a gorgeous jab and one of the best body kicks in the sport. He is a terror in the clinch with his knees and elbows, and he is an especially good grappler, with an outstanding wrestling and judo-based game involving trips, uchi matas, shoulder drags and throws. Defensively, he is almost impenetrable, with excellent takedown defense and an inane ability to get back to his feet when taken down, as well as outstanding head movement and distance control to avoid strikes. Additionally, Edwards is exceedingly calm and smart at all points of a fight, has outstanding cardio and manages his energy superbly. Plus, he has a durable chin. This all adds up to a competitor who is exceedingly difficult to defeat.

STRIKING

Stance: Southpaw
Hand Speed: Fast. Significantly above average for a welterweight.
Jab: Superb. Fast, sudden, accurate and technical; only lacks a little power.
Cross: Quite good. with similar properties to the jab, but the lack of power is felt more keenly. At best, he can score a flash knockdown with this punch but no more.
Right Hook: Decent. A tight, technical shot that had enough power to drop Peter Sobotta.
Uppercuts: Virtually never throws them.
Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Throws either one or two punches at a time, rarely more.
Favorite Combinations: Excels at the one-two, with textbook form and surgical accuracy.
Leg Kicks: Excellent at being fast and accurate.
Body Kicks: Some of the best in the sport. He times them especially well, with considerable power.
Head Kicks: Rarely throws this strike, although it stands out when he does. Fires it with speed and good form.
Chains Kicks to Punches: On occasion, though not regularly.

Edwards’ striking is outstanding in every regard except one: his lack of power. However, his fast hands, lightning-quick jab, effective and accurate cross and solid right hook still mean opponents have to be wary of his boxing. His kicks are devastating, with those he throws to the body—some of the best in all of MMA—aided by his being out of the southpaw stance. Edwards’ defense is excellent, too, with fine instincts, head movement and control of the distance. He is a hard man to hit, though he does tend to move straight back a bit too often.

CLINCH

Physical Strength: Much stronger than the average UFC welterweight and able to hold his own against powerful grapplers like Gunnar Nelson.
Technique: Outstanding. Textbook form and balance. A blend of muay Thai and wrestling.
Knees: Excellent. With tremendous flexibility and speed, he is able to consistently hit opponents in almost every position.
Elbows: Lethal, either when he disengages or when an opponent comes in. They are fast and powerful, and they are thrown with gorgeous technique, like the one with which he dropped the aforementioned Nelson.
Defense Against Knees and Elbows: Successfully blocks or smothers almost all such blows.

Edwards is incredibly dangerous in the clinch, with some of the best knees and elbows in the sport. They are plenty powerful and fast, with utterly beautiful technique. Meanwhile, Edwards almost never gets hit by opponents’ strikes there. Unlike many muay Thai stylists, Edwards is strong and skilled in the clinch from a grappling perspective, avoiding takedowns while often succeeding with some of his own.

GRAPPLING

Wrestling from a Shot: Serviceable. Lacks some forward drive, but sets it up nicely, either from his own strikes or in reaction to an opponent.
Wrestling in the Clinch: Quite good, with an array of trips. Even snuck in a shoulder drag against Luque, a beautiful uchi mata against Barbarena and a throw from the back against Nelson.
Takedown Defense: Excellent. Only gets taken down by a sound, skilled attempt, often set up specifically or through chain wrestling by a high-level grappler.
Ability to Return to Feet: Great. Utilizes fast, agile hip escapes. Fantastic at pushing off against opponents’ hips, as well as highly skilled and patient at wall walking.
Submissions: Owns fluid, agile Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills and managed to score a rear-naked choke against Albert Tumenov—no easy task.
Defense and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Excellent. Excessively slippery and hard to ground-and-pound, even when he is on the bottom.
Top Control: Decent. Makes it hard for opponents to get up, though they certainly can.
Ground-and-Pound: Adequate. Able to hit some solid punches and an especially nice elbow but normally too focused on controlling the opponent to inflict much damage.

Edwards is a shockingly good grappler, especially from the clinch, where his wrestling and judo is a sight to behold, and is highly effective even against grapplers like Nelson and Dos Anjos. From the top, he is solid with his control, GNP, and submissions, if not exceptional. But defensively, he is absolutely superb, being incredibly difficult to take down and even more difficult to keep down there, let alone actually inflict any damage to.

INTANGIBLES

Athleticism and General Physical Strength: Well above average, especially in terms of his agility. Surprisingly powerful given his frame.
Cardio: Excellent. Managing his energy especially well.
Chin: Sturdy. Able to absorb some hard connections with few ill effects. Like virtually any other fighter, an especially powerful shot will hurt him.
Recuperative Powers: Good. Can either wrestle effectively or otherwise defend competently before he fully recovers.
Intelligence: Outstanding. A very calm, cerebral fighter who seemingly always makes the correct decision in any given situation.

Edwards is a ridiculously smart fighter who always approaches a battle calmly and rarely makes a tactical mistake. He has become known for making the correct decision, no matter the situation. He is helped by a good gas tank that he manages exceedingly well and a tough chin, with good recuperative powers for the rare times he has been hurt. He is also physically strong and exceptionally agile, making him a difficult test for virtually any of his contemporaries. There is a reason his last defeat was a competitive 29-28 decision to Kamaru Usman almost seven years ago. Edwards was only 24 at the time and has done nothing but improve since.