For rising Bellator middleweight contender Fabian Edwards, MMA has always been a family affair.
The Birmingham native is making waves in the Bellator 185-pound division as he looks to plot his route all the way to the top. And the undefeated Brit says he has the perfect role model to aspire to in the form of his older brother, UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards.
Interestingly, Fabian revealed there has never been any sibling rivalry and insisted the two brothers have barely exchanged a cross word, despite spending so much time together as kids and young adults.
“We’ve never had a fight with each other,” Fabian told MMA Junkie. “We’ve never had an argument. We’ve never played tricks. I think because our characters are cool, calm people. I’m cool and calm, and he’s the same. So, as kids growing up, we never got into any tear-ups or anything. My mum would have beat us if we did. That’s probably the reason why we didn’t.”
At 26, Fabian is two years younger than Leon, and he said he watched his brother take up MMA as a 16-year-old. But at the time, 14-year-old Fabian wasn’t interested in following the same path as he admitted it took him a little longer to get bit by the MMA bug.
“I started probably five to six years later,” he said. “I could always handle myself and have a good fight, but my teachers and my friends said, ‘You should try it.’ For me, at the time mentally, I wasn’t interested in any sort of training. But one or two things happened in life and I thought, ‘I’ll give it a go.’
“It’s been the right decision for me. I could never imagine myself doing anything different in life now. No one’s ever pushed me in the sport, no one’s ever told me to come training. No one’s pushed me into it. I just thought, ‘Why not? Let me have a go,’ and I fell in love with it.”
Fabian kicked off his amateur career in 2015 and made his pro MMA debut with Bellator before signing for British promotion BAMMA as he reeled off five successive stoppages to kick off his professional career in style.
Throughout that time he trained alongside Leon, who was building momentum in the UFC’s talent-stacked welterweight division. Working alongside his brother in the gym every day has proved to be a real blessing for Fabian, as he explained.
“It’s so special, and it’s so valuable,” he said. “Everyone in the gym appreciates his knowledge. He’s been in the sport about 11 years now. He’s seen the sport change, and he’s been through all sorts and types of fighters, so he’s been able to give me a lot of information on how I should fight this person or that person. So you can’t ask for anything better. Some guys might be top guys, but they might only be good at striking if you look at them. But my brother is an all-round fighter. And that’s what we’re all trying to be. We’re not trying to be one dimensional; we’re trying to be great mixed martial artists.”
That quest for well-roundedness certainly seems to be paying off. His career stands perfect at 8-0, with his six finishes divided equally between knockouts and submissions. It’s a record that has pushed Fabian to the cusp of a breakthrough in the Bellator middleweight division, and he takes on fellow Brit – and former BAMMA champion – Mike Shipman at Bellator London on Nov. 23 looking to score another impressive win and set the stage for a fight in the U.S.
“That’s the next step,” he said. “To be the best in the game and to gain respect, at the end of the day you’ve got to fight good people. That’s what I’ve called for. I’m always calling for a fight with a guy with a good record and a fight with a guy who people think is a guy who is going to smoke me. Those are the people that I’ve asked for. At the end of the day, whoever I get given, I get given and I take care of my business. And after this one Bellator will see and they’ll throw me a big name and someone that will get me closer to that title shot.”
Leon Edwards at UFC San Antonio in July. (Adam Hagy, USA TODAY Sports)
With Fabian making moves in Bellator and Leon not too far away from a shot at championship gold in the UFC, both of the Edwards brothers seem to be in the right place for their respective careers. And when asked if he thought one brother would be better off swapping organizations to fight alongside the other, he said he likes things just the way they are right now.
“We’re taking our own paths,” he said. “My brother’s goal is to get that world title with the UFC. My goal is to capture the world title in Bellator. I’m very young in my Bellator career; my brother’s a veteran in his UFC career. But he’s only 28, so there’s still so many years (ahead). If he wanted to come over, or if I wanted to go over, and test ourselves against different people in multiple organizations, we can.
“For me, personally, as a fighter, it’s about testing myself against different people. So at the moment in my career I’m happy with Bellator. Bellator’s a great company. My brother’s happy with the UFC. So at the moment we’re both on our paths, and it’s lovely, and we’re enjoying it, you know?”
And the ultimate dream for both Fabian and Leon is to one day be able to sit down with their teammates at Renegade MMA, with each brother holding championship gold from their respective promotions.
“We are not far away from that,” Fabian said. “I see my brother is one or two fights away from that, and I believe I’m around four to five fights away. I’m calling for these top opponents to push me towards a title shot. I believe Bellator view Shipman as a top opponent, so after I clean him out, I’m looking to see who they give me – maybe a big name in America.”
Bellator's Fabian Edwards on chasing gold alongside UFC brother Leon: ‘It’s so special’