Fabian Edwards believes that his father was “looking down” on him when he mimicked the title-winning knockout of brother Leon Edwards to become PFL middleweight champion, a mere day after the three-year anniversary of Leon’s famous UFC title triumph over Kamaru Usman.
Leon’s two-year reign as welterweight king begun in monumental fashion on 20 August 2022, when he pulled a Hail Mary knockout-of-the-year from his depths to beat one of the division’s all-time greats at UFC 278. Just over 1,000 days on from that historic night in Salt Lake City, one immortalised with the catchphrase “headshot dead”, the stars aligned for the Edwards family once more.
His younger brother Fabian, 32, faced off against Dalton Rosta in the final of the PFL middleweight tournament, both the title and $500,000 (£369,000) in prize money on the line. After two back-and-forth rounds, Edwards landed a left high kick identical to the one that knocked out Usman, sending Rosta crashing to the ground as the referee waved off the fight.
The similarities between both finishes have stunned and captivated the combat world, and when asked if he believes a higher power might have been involved, Edwards cites the divine influence of their father, who was killed in a shooting when the Birmingham brothers were just 11 and 13 respectively.
“I feel like our dad was looking down on us that night,” Edwards told The Independent. “It was pretty much the same night, same kick, both title fights and big moments of our career.
“For it to happen in that way, there’s got to be (a higher power), so whoever’s looking down on us and got a hand on us, we’ve got to say thank you to them.”
The roles were reversed for his moment of glory, with Leon and his coaches swarming the cage as the ref stepped over a prone Rosta. “He f***ing hopped the cage before Dalton was even out! You could just see the genuine emotions that came out of him and it was the same when he did that knockout in Utah. I couldn’t control myself,” he said.
But for the brothers, this meant more than just money and gold. With both now boasting world champion status in their decorated careers, it acted as the culmination of their family’s rags to riches story. They spent the early years of their life living in squalor in Kingston, Jamaica, with their father a notorious figure in the local gang scene until his death in 2004.
“I feel like just coming up the way we came up, it does instill that type of work ethic into you,” Edwards added. “For myself, I wouldn’t want my kids to grow up that way, so me having a little family has instilled that into me to go out there and work hard for them.”
Years after first getting to grips with the sport himself, it was Leon who first opened his brother’s eyes to MMA, something that Edwards has always remained thankful for. “I always look at Leon as the man,” he said, quashing talk of a sibling rivalry. “It doesn’t matter what I go out there and achieve, however many more titles I win or how big I get. Leon’s the man because he’s taught us down the gym so much. He brought our level up by loads, so he’s always the leader of the pack.
“He’s the one that’s gone out there and done it all before us so there can’t be any rivalry really. He’s the guy and all of us are kind of following.
“It was only from watching him that influenced me to have a go (at MMA). And since I’ve had a go, I’ve had such an amazing athlete to guide me. He’s my brother and he’s got one of the best IQs in the game.”
Now at the mountain top, Edwards is back at home as he tries to let his achievement and subsequent virality truly sink in. He’s the dad of three kids but admits he is apprehensive for them to follow him into the sport and potentially add to the legacy carved by their father and uncle. “My son does a bit of boxing but I wouldn’t want them to fight. Fighting sport is too hard.”
And while he is yet to truly accept the scale of his success – speaking about the past fortnight in his typical nonchalant tone – he is already thinking about what is next. A PFL title unification with Costello van Steenis is in his sights, but he remained coy about whether joining up with his brother in the UFC could come to fruition down the line.
“I’m not one to deep where I should have been or could have been,” he said. “I’m grateful for the position that I’m in and I’m also a guy that’s focussed on what I need to focus on at the time. I’m in PFL at the moment, they’re treating me well. I look forward to doing business with them.”
He still harbours dreams of simultaneously holding world titles alongside his brother, whether they’re in the same promotion or not. Leon is on a two-fight slip since losing his belt to Belal Muhammad last summer, but with a more stylistically favourable fight against striker Carlos Prates on the docket for November’s UFC 322, Edwards believes there is a way back into the UFC title picture for him.
“Becoming one of the main guys in PFL and him being one of the main guys over there (in the UFC), it makes sense,” he said.
“Leon’s still got a lot of fire left in him. Even though he’s turned 34, he’s young because he hasn’t been in war after war after war – most of his fights, he comes out pretty clean.
“I reckon he’s two good wins away (from getting another title shot). I feel like he can go out there and look good against Prates, and then it’s whoever’s going to be next in line. Two good wins will bring him back into the conversation and that’s what we’re working towards.”
