Din Thomas doesn’t think Leon Edwards has the heart of a fighter.
Last Saturday, Edwards faced off against Sean Brady in the main event of UFC London, where things went horribly for the former champion. Brady ruled “Rocky” in most battles, then became the first man to finish Edwards, submitting him to the fourth round with a mounted guillotine choke. However, Thomas, who was on Brady’s corner on Saturday, knew that the fight was long before the tap. He says it was the moment Edwards shot for a takedown in the third round.
“When he did that, I was quiet and looked at head coach John Marquez and said, ‘Did he just try to take Sean away?” Thomas said on an Anthony Smith podcast. “And when he turned around, John said, ‘Man, we could just play the checker and literally play chess because we didn’t have to do anything.” We showed at that point that when Leon shot that takedown he didn’t want to be there anymore.
It was a catastrophic loss for Edwards. Edwards is now a tremendous defeat outside the first streak of his career and title conversation. Perhaps even worse is how these two losses looked. Thomas says Edwards’ losing streak revealed a tough reality for the former champion. He does not have this heart.
“I don’t want this to be rude to Leon because I still believe he was a great champion, whether it’s skill, his figure, etc,” Thomas said. “He’s a great fighter. He’s still the top five material. But I don’t think Leon is a real, true fighter in his mind.
“And I say from the perspective of Justin Gesche and Dustin Poirier. These guys are going to fight you in the car park. I think he’s an athlete, I think he’s a performer. I think he’s creative. I think he’s going to eat everyone in the gym. I think he’s super magic. I think he’s going to beat everyone.”
That’s a harsh review from Thomas, but it’s not the first time he’s imposed it at Edwards. In Edwards’ second fight with Kamal Usman, Thomas appeared on the UFC broadcast, realizing that Edwards had been mentally defeated just before he managed to get a miraculous last-minute comeback knockout. Edwards did not have such a comeback this time. With the increasing sample size, Thomas believes even Edwards’ team knows he’s telling the truth.
“I think they even realize that Leon is not a true fighter at times in the heart,” Thomas said. “And they want to be him, that’s why they protect him. So the coaches say, ‘Come on, son! Don’t let him bully you!” They probably know that if he has a little more grit on him and has the ability to bite iron, he’s still a world champion. …
“And to be fair, I didn’t have either. This is how I know what it looks like because I didn’t have either. When things struggled for me, I pulled the guards too.