Leon Edwards | Ready, Steady, Go

"Seeing people like (Alexander Volkanovski) do it, people like that, who came back after coming off losses to win the title, that adds to my motivation, as well.

“What a story it’ll be when you do become two-time world champion. When you sit back and retire in your house, you can think, ‘I did it not once, but twice. You were doubted before, and you did it again.’

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"Everyone was doubting Volk, and he came back and did it again. Now he’s the best of all time. It’s a fun place to be, and I’m excited to be here.”

Edwards beat the doubters, as well as one of the division's best-ever champions, Kamaru Usman, to capture the undisputed welterweight crown in one of the all-time great come-from-behind victories at UFC 278. He then followed up that victory in Salt Lake City with a majority decision win over Usman in their rematch at UFC 286 in London.

Edwards was largely dominated on the mat by Brady, who eventually submitted him in the fourth round. It was the first time Edwards had suffered back-to-back defeats in his career, and he revealed that he had let the result eat away at him for a while before eventually moving on and turning his attention to the challenges ahead.

“It’s all the normal feelings – the frustration, the annoyance – and after a while, you can't sit and mope about for too long, because, I mean, there's still a career ahead of you. You still want to achieve other goals,” he explained.

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“So, you accept the loss, deal with it, technically and mentally, then you’ll be fine. I feel like when people lose a fight, they kind of let it beat them down and think, ‘I can't now achieve whatever I'm trying to achieve.’

“All the greats that everyone considered great in boxing, or mixed martial arts, has lost a fight, you know? So it is what it is, you’ve gotta crack on, go back to the drawing board, back to learning , back to growing and keep doing that.

While Edwards and Prates both come from a striking background, "Rocky" says they're very different fighters, at very different stages in their respective careers. But while their fighting styles may be markedly different, he recognizes the position Prates finds himself in heading into Saturday's fight.

“He’s a good striker. A long, lanky guy,” he said.

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“It's kind of wild in how he strikes as well, but there's a lot of holes in his game. It reminds me of (my situation) back in the day, when I first got into UFC. You thought you knew it all, but you don’t. Once you start moving up levels, it’s just different, a different level.

“I had time to hone my skills, and I will show that on Saturday night.”

That elite-level experience has seen Edwards compete in five-round fights in each of his last eight outings. You have to go all the way back to March 2019 and his win over Gunnar Nelson in London for his last three-round bout.

It's meant Edwards needed to tweak his fight prep to cater to the shorter duration, but he said he's looking forward to throwing himself into the faster pace of a three-round bout.

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“Yeah, I haven’t fought in a three-round fight in six years, so I’m excited for that,” he said.

“It’s hard to prepare – a five-round fight is a lot of work, a lot of grind on your body. So is a three-round fight, but the preparation is different. 

"I'm excited to go out there and sprint the three (rounds).”

And, after two fights that didn't showcase Edwards at his best, "Rocky" says he's ready to deliver a statement performance at Madison Square Garden to put himself on course for another shot at the gold.

He's already mapped out his route, with Edwards laying out a three-fight plan that goes from New York to London to a title tilt next summer.

“I feel me going out there Saturday night and dominating Carlos will put me back where I feel I belong,” he stated. I've said it before. My plan is to fight this Saturday and I want to fight again – hopefully back home again in London in March. I know they come every year, so if they do come again, I want to headline that, and then fight for the belt in the summer.

"That’s my 3-fight plan that I’ve got. But I know that starts on Saturday night, after I dominate Carlos and show Dana (White) and Hunter (Campbell) that I'm still the guy.”