Mixed marshal arts will be expecting the long awaited fight today Friday night at Wembley Arena between Fabian Edwards and Lyoto Machida in the co-main event at Bellator London 18:00 BST (21:00)
The thing which stands out most about Fabian Edwards is his confidence.
In his mind, it is not ‘if’ he beats mixed martial arts legend Lyoto Machida on Friday – it is “when”.
It will be a remarkable display of resolve from Edwards, 29, considering the past three years where the Briton has suffered two defeats and seen three more fights get cancelled.
And yet, there is not a hint of uncertainty as Edwards sits back in his chair to describe how it will feel to face someone like Machida at Wembley Arena.
“But for now, he’s just another person and I’m going to beat him.”
“When it’s all over, I will be driving back to Birmingham saying to myself ‘wow! I just beat Machida’,” Edwards said.
Although Edwards admits recent years have been “frustrating”, he says he has found solace at his gym in Birmingham.
Like his brother Leon in the UFC, who has also faced a number of fight cancellations in recent years, Edwards has used the time to sharpen his fighting skills.
Although fans can expect to see the best physical and technical version of Edwards on Friday, the middleweight believes the biggest improvements have been made in his mentality.
“It’s about finding your own way and what works for you and I believe I’ve found that.
“You have to understand yourself as a person. On fight night, I have to walk around the arena, I want to see people and be chill. If someone wants to tell me to sit down, that wouldn’t be good for me. It wouldn’t bring the best out of me.”
Edwards says despite Leon his senior brother’s success in UFC he feels no extra expectations and the relationship between the pair brings out the best in each other.
Edwards’ elder brother Leon is arguably the top British MMA talent at the moment.
The 30-year-old is unbeaten in 10 fights and is set to face UFC welterweight title holder Kamaru Usman when the champion has recovered from hand surgery.
According to Edwards, he says: “I’m a sore loser. Regardless of if my brother was in the sport or not, I’m a competitive person and I want to win everything and be the best version I can be for myself,”.
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