For Edwards, bringing the belt back to his community “meant everything,” and Lovell is hopeful about the affect his pupil’s championship moment can have.
“That moment that Leon (had) has grabbed a lot of attention,” Lovell said. “It has grabbed a lot of the imaginations of the kids, but when they actually see the training, they try a little bit of training. Not all of them stick to it still because, as you know, it’s a hard game… A lot of them come in, they get a lot of aggression out and it’s better to get that aggression out in the gym rather than out in the community among themselves. It can only be a positive thing.
Athlete Profiles: Arnold Allen | Leon Edwards
“It’s a great thing for Birmingham,” he continued. “A lot of the negativity (is) going on at the moment amongst the youth, so really, Leon doing that has made the kids from the inner city areas and deprived areas believe, ‘Well, you can achieve something if you really try to.’ It’s just making the effort to go out of your way to walk into a gym, and then the youth that is walking into the gym is welcomed by Ash, welcomed by Tom, welcomed by the team members because we were all youths one day and all youths doing things maybe we shouldn’t have been doing, so this is only a good positive vibe in the area, in general, but also in the gym.”
The ultimate goal of any gym, according to Lovell, is to produce champions, and he takes great pride in having a hand in Edwards’ journey to the top. They’re all eager to defend that belt after celebrating the moment, and after appearing as a guest fighter in Abu Dhabi at UFC 280, Edwards said he’s back to the grind in earnest.
Beyond Edwards, Team Renegade is optimistic they’ll bring more UFC gold to Birmingham. It’s always easier to fathom once it’s done, and even more so when it’s done the way Edwards did it. For now, he’s glad to be the face of the gym and the MMA scene in the UK.
“We’ve got great coaches for each discipline and just blend perfectly,” Edwards said. “We’re not forcing it. Just a perfect team and good banter. Just perfect. I’m happy to be the front runner of it.”
