Leon Edwards is on top of the world. In his recent feat, ‘Rocky’ has beaten Kamaru Usman, arguably the greatest UFC welterweight ever, twice to capture the 170-pound title. He even successfully defended his title earlier this month against Colby Covington. The 32-year-old now has his eyes set on becoming the first British two-division UFC champion and has talked about wanting to fight the winner of the Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis UFC 297 middleweight title bout.

Edwards has gone from growing up in poverty, surrounded by crime in Birmingham, England to being on the cusp of making combat sports history. It was not surprising, therefore, to see him be felicitated by his home crowd.

Leon Edwards parades UFC title at Aston Villa home ground

Leon Edwards grew up in the Aston area of Birmingham and unsurprisingly is a huge fan of Aston Villa FC, the local soccer club. On his latest visit to the club, he was invited to parade his belt at the club’s home ground of Villa Park in front of a packed house.

Edwards walked out with his UFC welterweight belt during halftime of Aston Villa vs. Burnley Premier League fixture to applause and appreciation from the fans. He was also gifted a jersey that had the no. 1 and ‘Champion’ written on it by the club. In a short video posted on Villa’s official Twitter account, Edwards thanked the fans and club and wished them well. And fans were quick to let their thoughts known.

Fans react to Edwards parading title at Villa Park

Fans took to the comments section and let their thoughts on Edwards’ victory lap clear. Here are some of their comments.

One fan was surprised the club did not customize the jersey to say Edwards’ name:

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“couldn’t even provide him a custom”

Another felt Edwards had a bad taste in football clubs:

“even his football take sucks”

One fan found it hilarious ‘Rocky’ had little support from his native England:

“Hilarious he reps the UK and they barely support him”

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Another gave him credit for sticking with Aston Villa:

“Fairs, he grew up in Aston, atleast he’s not a glory seeker”

Another went on a diatribe against him and accused the champion of being forgettable:

“Years from now, we’ll all look back and possibly never remember about the reign of Leon Scissorhands, the man who point fights like his life depends on it”

Clearly, Edwards is not popular among UFC fans. However, he seems to be at least getting his dues from his hometown. If Edwards does manage to become a double champion, he will certainly have a strong claim to being called the greatest English mixed martial artist of all time.

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