Joselyne Edwards Deserves A Bigger Spotlight After UFC Houston

To understand Edwards’ situation, it helps to revisit her MMA career, both before and in the UFC.

Edwards made her debut in 2015. “La Pantera” immediately became Panama’s best fighter, winning six of her first seven fights and capturing the Ultimate Combat Challenge women’s bantamweight title. In 2018, she moved Stateside, became a champion for King of the Cage, and narrowly lost to fellow future UFC signee Sarah Alpar for the LFA title.

Following the 2018 drama, there was silence for over a year, not helped by COVID-19. Edwards returned to action, and she did so with aplomb, securing a sub-30-second knockout. Six and a half months after that, she defeated Yanan Wu by decision in her short-notice UFC debut, though her performance left much to be desired.

It was seemingly a sign of things to come, as Edwards lost her next two fights. She would rebound with a three-win streak, all by decision, but the last two were tarnished by weight misses. Fans and analysts also thought Lucie Pudilova beat her. The controversial finish was followed by yet another two-fight skid, including her fight with Cornolle.

At 4-4 and with a reputation for missing weight, Edwards seemed to be another release candidate. Matters were not helped when she missed weight for a third time against Tamires Vidal, but she secured a face crank finish seconds before the final bell.

From there, “La Pantera” has not looked back. Edwards spent 2025 destroying Chelsea Chandler and Priscila Cachoeira in the first round, the latter of which earned a Performance of the Night bonus. Now, with her vengeance against Cornolle sated, what is next for her?

A Main-Card Opportunity Beckoning?

A logical next step for Edwards is Mayra Bueno Silva. “Sheetara” has stunningly fallen from grace over the past two years, going from title challenger to a career-worst skid. In 2015 alone, she looked listless in decision losses to Jasmine Jasudavicius and Jacqueline Cavalcanti. She desperately needs a win to regain momentum and save her place in the UFC, while Edwards could propel herself to contention with another big result.

Another one is whoever loses between Ailin Perez and Macy Chiasson next week in Mexico. The two are seventh and eighth in the divisional rankings, respectively, and Edwards has a 2024 loss to the former that she would like to avenge.

Regardless of whatever comes next, however, one thing is certain: “La Pantera” deserves to be on the main card. Much has been said about fights between ranked women being consigned to the prelims, and Perez and Chiasson are no different, sitting below “no-names” like Imanol Rodriguez.

Such positioning harms their reputation and viability as top contenders. As It’s Not Cagefighting’s Karl Bainbridge repeatedly says, “How can fans be expected to care about contenders when the fights get no pedestal?” It is basically a throwback to when male flyweights fought in low card positions in the 2010s, then were met with apathy when they faced Demetrious Johnson. That practice has to stop, and the likes of Edwards will only benefit from that move.

End Of My Joselyne Edwards Rant

At 30 years of age, Edwards is on the young side when it comes to bantamweight contenders. Assuming she can maintain this newfound streak of deadliness in the cage and reliability on the scales, she might find herself a potential champion in the making.

That is not hyperbole. Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes might retire after their fight, whenever it happens, and the likes of Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena also do not have much left to give. Fans just need to give Edwards time and attention, and perhaps they may grow to like her as a 135-lb. queen…