Born: August 25, 1991 (Age: 30) in Kingston, Jamaica
Division: Welterweight
Height: 6’2”
Reach: 74”
Record: 19-3 (11-2 UFC)
Association: Ultimate Training Centre
Stage of Career: Prime
Summary: Edwards is not a flashy knockout artist since he lacks
power in his hands, but it would be difficult to design a more
skilled fighter. In the standup, he has silky smooth striking with
a gorgeous jab and one of the best body kicks in the sport. He is a
terror in the clinch with his knees and elbows, and he is an
especially good grappler, with an outstanding wrestling and
judo-based game involving trips, uchi matas, shoulder drags and
throws. Defensively, he is almost impenetrable, with excellent
takedown defense and an inane ability to get back to his feet when
taken down, as well as outstanding head movement and distance
control to avoid strikes. Additionally, Edwards is exceedingly calm
and smart at all points of a fight, has outstanding cardio and
manages his energy superbly. Plus, he has a durable chin. This all
adds up to a competitor who is exceedingly difficult to defeat.
STRIKING
Stance: Southpaw
Hand Speed: Fast. Significantly above average for a
welterweight.
Jab: Superb. Fast, sudden, accurate and technical; only lacks a
little power.
Cross: Quite good. with similar properties to the jab, but the lack
of power is felt more keenly. At best, he can score a flash
knockdown with this punch but no more.
Right Hook: Decent. A tight, technical shot that had enough power
to drop
Peter
Sobotta.
Uppercuts: Virtually never throws them.
Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Throws either one or two
punches at a time, rarely more.
Favorite Combinations: Excels at the one-two, with textbook form
and surgical accuracy.
Leg Kicks: Excellent at being fast and accurate.
Body Kicks: Some of the best in the sport. He times them especially
well, with considerable power.
Head Kicks: Rarely throws this strike, although it stands out when
he does. Fires it with speed and good form.
Chains Kicks to Punches: On occasion, though not regularly.
Edwards’ striking is outstanding in every regard except one: his
lack of power. However, his fast hands, lightning-quick jab,
effective and accurate cross and solid right hook still mean
opponents have to be wary of his boxing. His kicks are devastating,
with those he throws to the body—some of the best in all of
MMA—aided by his being out of the southpaw stance. Edwards’ defense
is excellent, too, with fine instincts, head movement and control
of the distance. He is a hard man to hit, though he does tend to
move straight back a bit too often.
CLINCH
Physical Strength: Much stronger than the average UFC welterweight
and able to hold his own against powerful grapplers like
Gunnar
Nelson.
Technique: Outstanding. Textbook form and balance. A blend of muay
Thai and wrestling.
Knees: Excellent. With tremendous flexibility and speed, he is able
to consistently hit opponents in almost every position.
Elbows: Lethal, either when he disengages or when an opponent comes
in. They are fast and powerful, and they are thrown with gorgeous
technique, like the one with which he dropped the aforementioned
Nelson.
Defense Against Knees and Elbows: Successfully blocks or smothers
almost all such blows.
Edwards is incredibly dangerous in the clinch, with some of the
best knees and elbows in the sport. They are plenty powerful and
fast, with utterly beautiful technique. Meanwhile, Edwards almost
never gets hit by opponents’ strikes there. Unlike many muay Thai
stylists, Edwards is strong and skilled in the clinch from a
grappling perspective, avoiding takedowns while often succeeding
with some of his own.
GRAPPLING
Wrestling from a Shot: Serviceable. Lacks some forward drive, but
sets it up nicely, either from his own strikes or in reaction to an
opponent.
Wrestling in the Clinch: Quite good, with an array of trips. Even
snuck in a shoulder drag against Luque, a beautiful uchi mata
against Barbarena and a throw from the back against Nelson.
Takedown Defense: Excellent. Only gets taken down by a sound,
skilled attempt, often set up specifically or through chain
wrestling by a high-level grappler.
Ability to Return to Feet: Great. Utilizes fast, agile hip escapes.
Fantastic at pushing off against opponents’ hips, as well as highly
skilled and patient at wall walking.
Submissions: Owns fluid, agile Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills and
managed to score a rear-naked choke against
Albert
Tumenov—no easy task.
Defense and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Excellent.
Excessively slippery and hard to ground-and-pound, even when he is
on the bottom.
Top Control: Decent. Makes it hard for opponents to get up, though
they certainly can.
Ground-and-Pound: Adequate. Able to hit some solid punches and an
especially nice elbow but normally too focused on controlling the
opponent to inflict much damage.
Edwards is a shockingly good grappler, especially from the clinch,
where his wrestling and judo is a sight to behold, and is highly
effective even against grapplers like Nelson and Dos Anjos. From
the top, he is solid with his control, GNP, and submissions, if not
exceptional. But defensively, he is absolutely superb, being
incredibly difficult to take down and even more difficult to keep
down there, let alone actually inflict any damage to.
INTANGIBLES
Athleticism and General Physical Strength: Well above average,
especially in terms of his agility. Surprisingly powerful given his
frame.
Cardio: Excellent. Managing his energy especially well.
Chin: Sturdy. Able to absorb some hard connections with few ill
effects. Like virtually any other fighter, an especially powerful
shot will hurt him.
Recuperative Powers: Good. Can either wrestle effectively or
otherwise defend competently before he fully recovers.
Intelligence: Outstanding. A very calm, cerebral fighter who
seemingly always makes the correct decision in any given
situation.
Edwards is a ridiculously smart fighter who always approaches a
battle calmly and rarely makes a tactical mistake. He has become
known for making the correct decision, no matter the situation. He
is helped by a good gas tank that he manages exceedingly well and a
tough chin, with good recuperative powers for the rare times he has
been hurt. He is also physically strong and exceptionally agile,
making him a difficult test for virtually any of his
contemporaries. There is a reason his last defeat was a competitive
29-28 decision to
Kamaru
Usman almost seven years ago. Edwards was only 24 at the time
and has done nothing but improve since.