I’d seen people being shot from a young age – MMA showed me a different path

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. I was walking past one day with my mum, and she just randomly said: “You should give this a go.” It wasn’t even open yet, but I knew the reason she was saying it was to stop me hanging around on the streets and getting into trouble. The affirmation of people saying: “You’re good, you can do this, you’re sick.” When you get that kind of attention and positive reinforcement as a kid, you want to do more and keep improving. open image in gallery Edwards is on a nine-fight win streak, having last lost in late 2015 Obviously one of my other main motivations is to become a world champion from the UK, to achieve this goal while still training in the UK and give back to MMA after what it’s done for me. People would say: “Look, Leon did it and he lives in Birmingham, so we don’t have to move to America to be able to do it.” It’d feel so close that they could touch it.