Leon Edwards admits having a chip on his shoulder for Sean Brady fight after losing title fight to Belal Muhammad at home: "It's how I lost it"

Leon Edwards' lopsided defeat against Belal Muhammad seems to have fueled his motivation as he prepares to face Sean Brady. Edwards was favored to win at UFC 304 which took place in his home country, the United Kingdom. However, Muhammad thoroughly dominated the fight with his dominant wrestling, ultimately securing a unanimous decision victory to become the 170-pound champion.

In a recent interview with TNT Sports, Edwards acknowledged that the manner of his defeat has driven him more than ever to reach the top of the sport again:

"I think [the desire to get back to the top] is more. I think the reason it's more as well is because it's how I lost it and the circumstances I lost under... I feel like it's more that I want to prove it more for myself now, you know. I was doing it because, 'I want to achieve this goal for my family and my friends and everything. But now, it's just for me, like I am better than what I showed last time. It's not about Sean, it's not about anybody else, it's about me this time around."

He added:

"It's about how great I am, and I truly believe that I'm great, and I can feel it that I'm great. So it's going out there and proving to myself that I am the best welterweight."

Check out Leon Edwards' comments below (3:39):

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Leon Edwards was relieved to enter Sean Brady's fight without the pressure of a long win streak

After losing against Kamaru Usman in December 2015, Leon Edwards went on a 13-fight unbeaten streak. In doing so, he broke welterweight great Georges St-Pierre's record of a 12-fight unbeaten streak.

The UFC 304 defeat against Belal Muhammad ended this nine-year-long unbeaten run and stripped him of the opportunity to chase higher records. Despite this setback, Edwards believes that the loss has freed him from the pressure of defending the win streak.

In the aforementioned interview with TNT Sports, Edwards said:

"Yeah, you can just go in there and be free, right? As before, in the last 10 years... I'm trying to beat this record of [] win, I think it was... I'm just putting all this pressure on myself that I just don't lose this fight because you're one [win away from tying] GSP's record, and you've not lost in 10 years, etc. ... But now, like, 'I've just lost.' So let's just go out there and do you, like be young 'Rocky'. Be Leon and just go out there..." [5:54]

Edwards vs. Brady will serve as the main event of the UFC London event scheduled to take place at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom, on March 22. Heading into the fight, Edwards is a +140 underdog. Like Muhammad, Brady also possesses a strong wrestling background, which proved pivotal in Edwards' recent loss.