Athletes
Joselyne Edwards Is Ready To Take Her Chance
Panamanian Bantamweight Plans On Upsetting The Applecart By Stepping In And Toppling One Of The Division’s Top Contenders
When opportunity knocks, it usually pays to answer, and Joselyne Edwards has done exactly that to give herself a huge showcase in Las Vegas.
When Yana Santos was forced off the card due to injury, Panama’s Edwards answered the call and will now take on No. 3-ranked Norma Dumont in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs Zalal.
Watch This And Every UFC Event On Paramount+
It’s a huge opportunity for Edwards, who is excited to step in as she looks to gatecrash the championship picture at 135 pounds.
“I'm feeling great, feeling happy about this. The camp was great, and I’m ready to put on a show,” she told UFC.com. “And, more than anything, more than putting on a show, I’m ready to go out for a win with this great opportunity that was given to me.”
Joselyne Edwards Secures Statement Round 2 Submission | UFC Houston
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there`s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world`s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Joselyne Edwards Secures Statement Round 2 Submission | UFC Houston
/
The fight itself came together out of the blue, with Edwards offered the opportunity to step in on short notice. And, while she’s putting her four-fight win streak on the line to face a top-ranked opponent without the benefit of a full camp, Edwards said she’s more than ready to step up and deliver on fight night.
“No risk on this one,” she said. “I'm always training very hard, training tough out there at Xtreme Couture, training with the best out there. And I just think that it was, I was always eyeing these fights, being 11th in the ranking, (and) just kind of looking up and seeing what opportunity might come up.
RELATED: Dumont's New Opponent But Same Mission | Dumont Fight Week Interview
“You always have to be focused and ready for a fight. And I feel that I was ready and prepared, and the important thing is to be focused on it and ready to go.”
The ability to make the quick pivot from regular training to a condensed fight camp was no issue for Edwards, with the Panamanian now happily settled in Las Vegas, where she calls the respected Xtreme Couture gym her professional home.
“Moving to Las Vegas and being able to train here has been amazing. It has been a difference-maker,” she said. “Also, what you have at your disposal, you can go to the UFC PI and train. You have great (training) partners, as well. It takes you out of your comfort zone. So it was very important for me to be here, and that's what changed everything.”
Like her opponent this weekend, Edwards is in the best form of her UFC career. ”La Pantera” is riding a four-fight win streak, with two victories via knockout and two by submission. It’s a noticeable uptick in her performance, with all four of her previous UFC victories coming on the scorecards. But Edwards herself said that the secret to her improved form isn’t a change she’s made. Instead, it’s been about keeping things the same and staying consistent.
WATCH: Youssef Zalal Sit-Down Interview
“I don't think there was much of a change,” she admitted. “It was just persistence. It was consistency. It was just continuing to do the work, to put in the work, and continue to self-motivate when you don't have any motivation to do things. I think I had to do some self-reflection and just think about the losses that I had.
“After I had my last loss before getting into the (win) streak, I just thought, ’Why are you losing these fights? It's just silly the way you're losing your dumb fights, because you actually could win, and you're not coming out with the win. So it's about your style. You know what you have, you know what you’ve got, you know what you're capable of. But why are you losing these fights in a silly manner?’ So it's going back to the ‘Pantera’ that I was before I got into the UFC.”
Joselyne Edwards Stops Chelsea Chandler In Round 1 | UFC Kansas City
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there`s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world`s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Joselyne Edwards Stops Chelsea Chandler In Round 1 | UFC Kansas City
/
With Edwards staying consistent and persistent, she’s rediscovered that spark that originally earned her shot in the UFC, and she plans on keeping that momentum going when she faces Dumont at the Meta APEX on Saturday night.
“I think it's going to be a great fight (and) obviously, a great challenge,” she assessed. “She is a tough fighter, somebody who's really intelligent and knows the time to strike, and that's what I need to know – the proper time to strike. You know what I come to do. I come to destroy. I come to kill.
MORE UFC FIGHT NIGHT: Rafa Garcia Inspired By A Legend | Max Griffin's Power Of Acceptance | Family Business For Davey Grant
I look at her as number three. I want to steal her spot, and she does not want a number 11-ranked fighter to steal her spot. So we know it's going to be a good challenge, it’s going to be a good fight, and it’s going to be a war out there.
“The way to win, obviously, is to beat her, to put the pressure on, and be aggressive,” Edwards said. “It has to be a knockout or submission. There’s no room for decisions on Saturday.”
Joselyne Edwards Submits Vidal | UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs Pereira
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there`s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world`s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Joselyne Edwards Submits Vidal | UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs Pereira
/
Edwards sees Saturday night as not just an opportunity to gatecrash the top contenders in the division – she sees it as a chance to force her way to the very front of the queue and put herself next in line for a shot at the gold.
She has a good read on what’s going on at the top of the division, and believes that victory over Dumont should put her in prime position to challenge after the championship picture plays out later this year, when reigning champion Kayla Harrison, recovery permitting, will face the returning former two-division queen Amanda Nunes.
“I think (my reward) should be the next challenger for the title, and I think I've earned it with the win on Saturday,” she said. “I think that what's happening is that Amanda (Nunes) has come out of retirement. She's made enough money, but I think that for the amount of money that they're probably paying her. It's worth it for her to actually just put that money in her pockets for this year.
“And as far as Kayla (Harrison), she's done everything that she could. And I think she's maybe got a fight (left in) her. Probably she's on the verge of retirement herself. But with a convincing win on Saturday, I should be the next one out there. Maybe if they want to put me against Raquel Pennington or Julianna Peña, I will take the fight. But I’m ready to go and fight for that belt.”
UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs Zalal took place live from Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 25, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
Tags