Edwards was born in Kingston, Jamaica and lived with his brother Fabian (who is a fighter in Bellator MMA)and his parents in a one-room wooden shack with a zinc roof. Edwards and his family moved to Aston, Birmingham, England when Edwards was nine years old.

What happened to Leon Edwards father?

He grew up in a high crime neighborhood. Edwards’ father was shot and killed in a nightclub when he was thirteen.

Edwards’ nickname, Rocky, was given to him by his friends in school due to his propensity to engage in street fights.  Edwards began training MMA at the insistence of his mother, who was trying to get him away from drug dealing and gang activity in his neighborhood. Edwards began training at the Ultimate Training Center in Erdington two to three times a day. He took up training younger fighters at the gym so that his mother would not have to pay his membership dues.

Edwards made his amateur MMA debut eight moths into his training and won four fights in one day at a local day. Edwards made his professional debut on June 5, 2011 and went 8-1 in his pre-UFC career. This included a 5-0 run in BAMMA where he won and defended the BAMMA Welterweight Championship. His sole loss was a disqualification due to throwing an illegal knee.

Edwards would taste victory in his next eight UFC fights. In 2016, Edwards defeated Dominic Waters (UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Arlovski) by unanimous decision and Albert Tumenov by rear naked choke (UFC 204).