Leon Edwards (born 25 August 1991) is an English professional mixed martial artist.

[7] Edwards was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and lived with his parents and his brother in a one-room house.

[9] He was then involved in criminal activity such as drug dealing, street fighting, and knife possession along with others in his social circle, but was able to get out of his lifestyle at age 17, when his mother got him to join an MMA club.

[8] Edwards began his professional fighting career in 2010, making his debut as an amateur at Bushido Challenge 2 - A New Dawn.

He had two more fights for the promotion, winning against Pawel Zwiefka and losing against Delroy McDowell via DQ by way of an illegal knee.

[10] Edwards made his promotional debut against Cláudio Silva on 8 November 2014 at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Saint Preux.

[14] This result earned him a Performance of the Night bonus[15] and marked one of the sixth fastest knockouts in the organization.

[41][42] However, one day later, it was announced that he had been scheduled to face undefeated prospect Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of UFC Fight Night 183 on 19 December 2020.

[44] On 29 November, it was announced that Chimaev had allegedly tested positive for COVID-19, which meant the bout was declared on jeopardy.

[45][46] On 1 December, Edwards officially tested positive for COVID-19 and allegedly lost twelve pounds due to the severity of his case, so the bout was subsequently postponed.

[53] However, on 11 February, UFC president Dana White announced the fight was once again cancelled due to Chimaev suffering from lingering effects of COVID-19.

[55] During the beginning of the second round, Edwards accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye rendering him unable to continue.

[67] With a point deduction in the third round due to grabbing the fence to prevent a takedown, he won the bout via majority decision.

[68] In the second defence of his title, Edwards faced Colby Covington on 16 December 2023 in the main event at UFC 296.

[70] In his third attempted title defence, Edwards faced Belal Muhammad again in a rematch on 27 July 2024 in the main event at UFC 304.

[72][73] Edwards is scheduled to face Jack Della Maddalena in the main event on 22 March 2025 at UFC Fight Night 255 in London, England.