Birmingham’s Leon Rocky Edwards has made his choice clear on who he believes the next British UFC champion will be
The English champion was crowned king of 170 pounds in August and thinks another Brit will soon lay their claim in their respective division.
Featherweight’s Beware
In an exclusive with the Express, ‘Rocky’ said he believes that Arnold Allen will be next in line to be a British UFC champion. The featherweight from Ipswich currently sits on a 12-fight winning streak (10 in the UFC) and sits at 4 in the 145lb rankings.
Edwards claimed that Allen’s path was like his own. Adding that the Ipswich native is a silent killer such as himself, someone who gets the job done and doesn’t speak out much on the mic.
Edwards works in close proximity to Allen due to the two training in the same gym- Elevation. Therefore, it can only be assumed that Edwards must see the potential in Allen.
Tripple Header
Allen is coming off a victory over top 10 featherweight Kalvin Kattar. Following a destructive win over ranked lightweight Dan Hooker, Allen was seeking a top-five rank at 145lbs. Now tipped by Edwards to take gold, Allen is not the only one after a featherweight title shot.
Josh Emmet and Yair Rodriguez are both also coming off wins in the top end of the featherweight elite. All three men are eying a fight against champion Alex Volkanovski. However, it is now likely Volkanovski will be competing for lightweight gold against new 155lb champion Islam Makhachev.
With that being said, it may be a case of Allen competing for interim gold. Just one more road block before he gets to fulfil Leon Edwards’s prophecy.
Another Contender
Another contender Edwards sees going to the top in the UFC is Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett. ‘The Baddy’ has only had 3 bouts in the UFC however holds superstar-like qualities and has caught the eye of the welterweight champion.
Although it may be a while before Pimblett gets to a similar spot that the likes of Allen and Edwards himself are at, the champion sees all the potential in the scouser.
Leon Edwards is only the second British UFC champion with Michael Bisping being the first. English MMA is at an all-time high and definitely boasts some champion worthy up and comers in the sport.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
