UFC 286’s Leon Edwards is the M&Ms-loving champ who fought on the streets and would face Muhammad Ali in dream fight

LEON EDWARDS is the UFC champion who seldom reveals much about himself.

Unlike the likes of Conor McGregor and several of his colleagues, Rocky rarely opens up about what makes him tick.

And when he does, he often relays the story of his upbringing in Jamaica and being a young upstart on the streets of Birmingham.

But what really makes the man they call Rocky tick?

SunSport’s Chisanga Malata - who has interviewed Britain’s second UFC champion for the best part of a decade - sought to find that out by peeling back the layers of the former street kid turned community icon ahead of his UFC 286 trilogy fight with Kamaru Usman.

So, Leon, when was your first ever fight? And you can include the ones you and Fabian used to have as kids.

"Haha, WWE off the bunk bed? No, [I was like] young. Like 12 or 13. Like in school days.

"I had the name Rocky from like school days because I was also into scraps, you know. So yeah, from school days.

"What was the time you felt the most vulnerable in your fight career?

"Through the pandemic, yeah, probably through the pandemic. Because leading up to the pandemic, I was meant to headline London with [Tyron] Woodley.

CASINO SPECIAL - BEST ONLINE CASINOS FOR 2023

"And to have that fight cancelled like a week before, from there, it was just like an emotional rollercoaster.

"I had like 4 or 5 fights fall out. Looking back at it now, it was probably a blessing in disguise as far as I could get better, I could improve. I could use the time to physically and mentally get better."

What is your guilty pleasure?

"Food! Pizzas, burgers, and fries. Just like eating, yeah, eating out."

Alright, so off the back of that, what is your favourite cheat meal in camp?

"I don't really cheat in camp, to be fair. [But] after camp though. [Actually], M&Ms. I'd say M&Ms in camp.

"Like, I'll do a solid two weeks of training and then I'll have a pack of M&Ms just to like treat myself once in a while.

"It depends on my weight, as well. I don't believe that having a cheat day will make a difference. I know mentally, some people struggle having a cheat day.

"But for me, I tell it to my brother and everyone that trains with me, 'If you want to have something, just have it.'"

If there's any fighter in any discipline, whether that be boxing, muay Thai, kickboxing or MMA that you could have fought from any generation, who would it have been?

"I'd love to have fought someone like a legend, like Muhammad Ali or something. Like a big name. Yeah, probably like Muhammad Ali, someone like that.

I thought you would've gone with Marvin Hagler.

"Ohh, Hagler. Yeah, that would've been a good fight. What rules, though? Boxing? If it's boxing, I don't wanna go Hagler.

It it's MMA, then yeah, I'll go Hagler for sure."