‘I don’t think Leon Edwards in his heart is a true fighter’

Din Thomas questions Leon Edwards’ grit after UFC Fight Night 255.

Former welterweight champion Edwards (22-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) was stopped for the first time in his career when he was dominated and submitted by Sean Brady in Saturday’s main event at The O2 in London.

Thomas, who was in Brady’s (18-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) corner for the fight, thinks Edwards’ recent performances have proven that he lacks heart.

“I don’t want to be disrespectful toward Leon,” Thomas said on the “On Paper With Anthony Smith” podcast. “I still believe that skill for skill, like his body type and all that, that he was a great champion. He’s a great fighter. He’s still top-five material. But I just don’t think that Leon in his heart is a real true fighter.

“And I say in terms of, like, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier, like these guys will fight you in a parking lot. I think he’s an athlete. I think he’s a performer. I think he’s creative. I think in the gym, he probably eats up everybody. He’s super magical. I just think when the lights come on and it’s time for him to really fight, despite not being a true fighter, he was still that good.”

Thomas pointed to the moment he knew Brady had Edwards. In Round 3, Edwards attempted a takedown of his own, but was immediately reversed.

“When he did that, I got quiet and I looked at John Marquez, the head coach, and said, ‘Did he just try to take Sean down?’” Thomas said. “And then when he got reversed, John was like, ‘Man, we could just play checkers and we could literally play chess right now because we don’t need to do anything.’ We just knew at that point, the fight was over. When Leon shot that takedown, he showed his hand that he did not want to be there anymore and that was a wrap.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 255.