#6 Welterweight Leon Edwards is ready to battle the current pound for pound fighter in the world Kamaru Usman that will take place on August 20, 2022, at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.

For Edwards, growing up in Kingston Jamaica is tough. His neighborhood riddled with killings, drugs and poverty. 

"I was born in Kingston. I lived with my father, my mother and my brother, Fabian, in a wooden shack with a zinc roof. It wasn't a one-bedroom; it was one room, period. In that room was the kitchen, the living room and the bedroom. We had one bed that we all slept in. That was most people's upbringing where I'm from."

As a Kid everything was provided to him and never really had a sad childhood. 

But later on, he realized that he was a bit more privileged than other kids because his dad was involved in some "questionable "activities", as he describes it.

Leon later moved to Aston in Birmingham England along with Fabian, who is also a professional Mixed Martial Artists. As teenager growing up, he has was involve in gangs and crimes.

His father was murdered at a nightclub when he was 14.

"When I was 14, my father was murdered. He was shot and killed at a nightclub in London. It was something to do with money. I don't know what exactly. It was some mad s---, but I knew that it could happen."

But eventually Edwards would discover mixed martial arts that will change the course of his life -- from being involved in gangs and crime, to something he is going to be proud of.

"When I was 17, my mother and I were walking in Erdington, the part of Birmingham we moved to after Aston. There was a gym being built there, Ultimate Training Center. They were going to train MMA fighters. My mom wanted me to join to get me off the streets. I didn't really know what MMA was. There wasn't much of it in the UK at the time. My mom could barely afford to pay membership fees, but somehow she made it work."

In 2014, Edwards won the BAMMA welterweight title in London, and signed with the UFC later that year. He is currently in a 9-fight winning streak and has the opportunity to avenged his lost to Kamaru Usman for the undisputed UFC Welterweight Belt at UFC 278.