Ian Machado Garry Shares Brutal Advice For Leon Edwards

Despite having been on top of the world and a viral sensation following his dramatic head-kick KO victory over Kamaru Usman at UFC 278, where he became just the second British champion in UFC history, Leon Edwards is now at a challenging point in his career. ‘Rocky’ has lost back-to-back fights for the first time in pro MMA, and although those losses came against elite fighters Belal Muhammad and Sean Brady, it was the manner in which he lost those fights which has caused concern.

Edwards was dominated in his last two fights. And, during a recent appearance on TalkSPORT, Ian Machado Garry, who is a top-ranked contender in the UFC’s welterweight division and has some history with Edwards, gave the former champion some brutally honest advice.

Leon Edwards & Ian Machado Garry’s professional MMA records (as of 04/06/25)
	Leon Edwards	Ian Machado Garry
Fights	28	17
Wins	22	16
Losses	5	1
No contests	1	0

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Ian Machado Garry Advises Leon Edwards to Retire from MMA

Garry doesn’t believe Edwards has what it takes to defeat the young fighters at welterweight

Garry gave Edwards some pretty brutal advice following his back-to-back defeats to Muhammad and Brady, who dominated Edwards in separate bouts. The Brit barely landed a glove on them, and once again came undone in grappling and wrestling.

Right now, the welterweight division is arguably the most stacked in the UFC. The pound-for-pound best fighter, Islam Makhachev, is set to make his welterweight debut later this year in a title fight against reigning champion Jack Della Maddalena. With the Russian’s arrival at 170 pounds, the division is only going to get more and more competitive, which isn’t a good thing for Edwards if he wants to climb back up the ranks and become a champion once again.

With just how stacked the welterweight division is and Edwards’ recent performances in mind, Machado Garry advised the former champion to retire, as he thinks his passion for the sport is completely gone.

“If I was Leon, I’d be retired.”

“He clearly doesn’t have the love for it anymore, clearly doesn’t have the talent for it against the young youth in the division,” said Garry. “Just kick it in, say you were a world champion, and go off into the streets of Birmingham and tell the people the story of what was, not what is.”

Although Garry’s advice seems harsh, he poses some great points, as in his last few fights, it has definitely looked like Edwards’ passion for MMA has vanished. With the top of the welterweight division being stacked with fighters such as Della Maddalena, Makhachev and Shavkat Rakhmonov, as well as having lots of great young talent on the rise, such as Michael Morales and Joaquin Buckley, if Edwards were to retire tomorrow instead of having to go through a murderers row of fighters, his legacy will remain intact.