Coach Dave Lovell details the impact Leon Edwards' win will have on U.K. and Birmingham youth × Follow Us Create Notifications New User posted their first comment this is comment text Link Approve Reject & ban Delete Log in Manage your profile Editing Story Queue Video Queue Editing Stats Writer Home SEO Redirection Admin Gaming Wiki Edits Taxonomy Home Edit Site Menu Mapping Dashboard Tag Pages Community Social Feed Queue Feed Center Notification Center Affiliate Home Manage Pages Bottom Tagline Dash Timeless Stories Logout MMA UFC News Life doesn t just mean you gotta be selling drugs or robbing houses - Coach Dave Lovell on the impact Leon Edwards win over Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 has on the youth his area By Ryan Harkness Modified 24 Aug 2022 Follow Us Comment Share Leon Edwards (Image via Getty Photos) Leon Edwards shocked the world at UFC 278, knocking out dominant champion Kamaru Usman with a headkick in the final minute of their welterweight title fight. Edwards becomes just the second fighter from the UK to hold a UFC championship belt, and now he has an entire country looking up to him. According to Edwards' longtime coach Dave Lovell, 'Rocky' winning the belt is going to have a big influence on UK youth, especially those from their hometown of Birmingham. In a new episode of The MMA Hour, Lovell said: "It's massive. Where we're from, we're living in a city area that's poverty-stricken ... The kids are running riots up here, they're stabbing each other, killing each other lock stock and barrel, shooting each other. It's getting out of hand. But Leon, coming from where we're from, this is a kid that could have gone down that path." View this post on Instagram Instagram Post "The youth are gonna look up to this kid and think 'Well, I can be like that. Why not? He's come from where I come from.' So it's massive for us. Not just black kids in general, but all the youth in the area. It's set a precedent that there's something to follow or strive after, life doesn't just mean you gotta be selling drugs or robbing houses." Watch Dave Lovell discuss Leon Edwards' huge win at UFC 278 below: Edwards credits MMA with saving him from a life of crime or early death. According to 'Rocky,' he was already getting swept up in gang life when his mother took him to Lovell's gym and enrolled him in the MMA program there. changing the path of his life forever. BLACK MAMBA@yannick_bahatiWe shook up the world #ufc2785188142We shook up the world #ufc278 https://t.co/wKwVyvjivh Leon Edwards now has a mural in his hometown of Birmingham U K While Leon Edwards was born in Kingson, Jamaica, he considers Birmingham, England his home. Specifically Erdington, a suburb just outside of downtown Birmingham. It's there that a new mural dedicated to Edwards was painted. Mircea@MirceaMMALeon Edwards Mural in Birmingham109140Leon Edwards Mural in Birmingham https://t.co/Vrrengy3cW It was important for Leon Edwards to stay loyal to his gym and city. After winning the welterweight title, he said: “This has never been done before, to have a guy from Birmingham in the U.K., did it from the U.K. I know Bisping did it first, but he did it from living in America. So it was hard for people like me to relate, to say, ‘Look, we can do it, as well.' I made a point to stay in the U.K. to achieve this, to show the other guys coming under me that, look, if you believe in your country, if you believe in your team, you can achieve it.” This win over Kamaru Usman sets the stage for a trilogy fight, one that will take place in the U.K. and give Leon Edwards a chance to cement his position as the undisputed welterweight champion.Abul (AbzTalks)@AbzTalks1The UFC Welterweight Champion of the World, Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards has returned home to the UK (Instagram-Renegadejiujitsu )71957The UFC Welterweight Champion of the World, Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards has returned home to the UK (Instagram-Renegadejiujitsu ) https://t.co/2EixlgoXnC Poll : 0 votes Quick Links More from Sportskeeda Edited by Ryan Harkness × Feedback Thank You! Be the first one to comment Follow Us Share Show More Comments GIF Comment in moderation 0 0 Reply x Edit Delete Delete the comment? 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