Leon Edwards fights to bring awareness to Birmingham stabbing epidemic

Leon Edwards is hoping to do his part in raising awareness on a recent surge in knife crime in England following horrific incidents in his hometown of Birmingham last week.

Three men were stabbed in broad daylight – two in a city park and one outside a shopping centre – with one man dying.

Edwards, a contender in the UFC welterweight division, thinks it’s about time people spoke out about the stabbing epidemic in his city, hoping to use his platform to spread awareness.

“It’s been going on for a very long time now,” Edwards told MMA Junkie. “Youth violence in the U.K., especially Birmingham and London knife crime, it’s been massive. And to see that video the other day – I know someone that knows the person that was stabbed in broad daylight. It was heartbreaking to actually see the video, because you hear about it all the time. On that same day, that video of that guy that got stabbed, there was another three stabbings in that same day. …

“I’m trying to bring awareness to it and trying to see what I could do to help, because I remember being in environments like that growing up as a kid with my friends, so I would love to try and help and put awareness to it.”

Edwards managed to avoid that environment when he focused on martial arts at a young age. As one of the top welterweights in the world, he urges other kids to consider martial arts as a path to help steer them away from violent activities in the streets.

“When I grew up as a kid, I was involved in gangs and stuff like that,” Edwards said. “My mum took me to the gym to keep me away from my friends, to try and make a better life for myself. I stuck to it. It’s changed my life. It changed my family’s life, and I’ve been trying to push it, push it, push it in the U.K., to say martial arts has changed my life, (and) it could also change your life.”