Fabian Edwards following in brother Leon's footsteps as he eyes world title
Leon Edwards' younger brother Fabian is eager to continue the family's world title lineage as he fights for Bellator middleweight gold in Dublin next weekend.
The UFC welterweight champion stunned fans when he viciously knocked out Kamaru Usman in Utah last summer at UFC 278 in Salt Lake City. But one man who wasn't surprised at all was his sibling, who can be heard just after coach Dave Lovell's famous 'Rocky' speech telling his brother to throw the exact head-kick that moments later would crown him champion.
"S*** man, where's my credit?" He joked in an exclusive chat with Mirror Fighting. "Look, I know fighting and I could see that shot coming. It's a mad one, that story will never, ever get old. No matter how many years have passed just how the fight was going and then for him to pick that shot, it's special."
And now it's his turn to step into the spotlight for his own world title effort, taking on the similarly grappling-heavy Johnny Eblen at Bellator 299 on Saturday night at the 3Arena. The champion has never been beaten in 13 fights as a professional, but aside from one showdown with Gegard Mousasi, likely hasn't faced a striker of Edwards' pedigree to date.
"It's going to be history," he explained of the event's significance. "To have two brothers in the sport, both holding titles. It's going to be historic - everything is feeling amazing, I feel good, I'm in a good space and I'm calm, happy with how preparation went and I'm in a happy place.
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And after watching Israel Adesanya be dethroned again over in the UFC by Sean Strickland, Fabian believes that the winner on September 23 is the greatest 185lb fighter in the sport. "I think this fight, regardless of who you had between Strickland and Adesanya is for the best middleweight in the world.
Fabian Edwards is forging his own world title destiny next week in Dublin (Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA)"The fans can view it as different, but I believe that this is for the best middleweight in the world. I think second or third round, I've said to my team, he'll be over eager. He's keen to get in there and exchange and my coaches were saying 'yeah, let's hang out in the pocket with him'.
"I believe I've got better eyes than him and I'm sharper than him so I think his over-eagerness will get the better of him and I get the better of it - I think the main thing for me with this fight is going to be the timing. He hasn't fought anyone with the timing that I have and when I catch him coming in then he can have all the game plans he wants but that will shake him up and it's too late then, he's already in there with me."
After the fact, it will be all eyes on either New York or Las Vegas for his brother Leon, who will fight Colby Covington before year's end. And Fabian believes that the pair will be celebrating the Christmas holiday sat around the dinner table with a pair of belts; one for his brother's UFC success and another for his in Bellator.
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"It's going to mean the world when we're at Christmas dinner with two belts at the f***ing table," he mused. "We'll be eating all the food we want and just celebrating a good year. That is what I'll be doing for the end of the year, it's going to mean the world to the family.
"Especially when you think of where we started from it's a mad journey. What's really mad is that once you've gone through it, I wouldn't change it now because it kind of makes you the person you are today. You can always pull back on that type of thing, that hardship when times get tough and Leon showed that in the fifth round. That mental toughness is due to our upbringing."
Tickets for BELLATOR 299 Eblen vs. Edwards are selling fast with limited tickets available via ticketmaster.ie and Bellator.com, fans can tune in to prelim card from 4pm and main card from 9pm live on BBC iPlayer.
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