Why is Leon Edwards nickname Rocky and where is Englands UFC champion from? Star set to

Leon Edwards will mark an emotional homecoming when he makes his first title defence against Kamaru Usman in London at UFC 286.

The welterweight handed the Nigerian Nightmare his first ever UFC defeat to become just the second British champion in the company’s history last August.

‘Rocky’ knocked out Usman with a devastating fifth-round leg kick to secure the UFC title and avenge his 2015 unanimous decision defeat.

The two will now face off again in a huge event in London tonight.

But where did Edwards' nickname come from and how much do we know about his rise to the top? talkSPORT.com takes a look...

Why is Leon Edwards’ nickname ‘Rocky’?

Edwards was born in Kingston, Jamaica before he moved to the Aston area of Birmingham, England at age nine.

In a deeply personal letter published in ESPN, the 31-year-old explained his formative years growing in London gave him his nickname.

Edwards said: "Aston was in a constant gang war.

"There was the Johnson Crew and the Burger Bar Boys. They were rivals, and violence constantly broke out between both sides. I fell in with the younger kids.

"I didn't plan to get into a gang. It's just what you did. It was a means of survival.

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"People don't understand that your options are limited when you don't know any better.

"When I was 14, my father was murdered. He was shot and killed at a nightclub in London.

"It was something to do with money. I don't know what exactly. It was some mad s***, but I knew that it could happen.

"But that didn't make it any easier. It f***** me up.

"It pushed me more into gang life and crime, toward the negative. My mid-teens were my darkest years.

"My crew was involved with fights, robberies and stabbings. We sold some drugs. We smoked weed and drank, a bit. I was arrested a few times, for fights and having a knife.

"It was mostly fighting. I fought to defend friends, I fought to intimidate and I fought because of beefs. I fought all the time.

"That's why my nickname is 'Rocky'. I got that from school. That's before I got into MMA. I got it just from scrapping in the streets."

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