"A minute-long voice note of her just crying" - Leon Edwards shares heartwarming account of his mother thanking "father figure" coach Dave Lovell

Leon Edwards shared a heartwarming account of his mother thanking his coach Dave Lovell after UFC 278. Lovell’s fiery instructions to Edwards in-between rounds at UFC 278 have earned him widespread praise.

Edwards faced the UFC’s pound-for-pound king and welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in a rematch at UFC 278. After impressively winning round one, Edwards was out-grappled and outpointed through rounds two, three, four, and even round five, until a thunderous head kick from the Brit slept Usman and gave him the welterweight strap.

On The MMA Hour, host Ariel Helwani spoke to Leon Edwards and harked back to coach Dave Lovell’s passionate instructions in-between rounds after round two. Helwani, akin to many others, suggested that Lovell’s intense inspirational talk encouraged Edwards to believe in himself and beat Usman with a last-minute head kick KO in the fifth and final round.

Helwani brought up the fact that the BT Sports social media accounts have posted highlights from Lovell and Edwards’ interactions in-between rounds. He added that there’s also a fan-made video with the iconic ‘Rocky’ movie theme added as background audio to the Lovell-Edwards interactions.

Leon Edwards responded to this by revealing that his mother later sent him an emotional voice note thanking Lovell. ‘Rocky’ emphasized that he then sent the voice note to Lovell, which made the latter tear up. In regards to Lovell’s incredible pep talk, Edwards stated:

“Nah, it’s been like that before but not that intense. He’s definitely been like that before, even in training and in other stuff. I’ve grown to look at him as a father figure. My mum saw the videos. She voice note me this morning, and just crying, saying, ‘Tell Dave thank you ‘cause I could tell he really cared about you.”

Edwards continued:

“And it’s like a minute-long voice note of her just crying and saying, ‘Tell Dave thank you. Tell [him] that he really cared for you. And I’m happy that you’ve got someone like that with you in your corner.”

Watch Edwards discuss the topic at 7:45 in the video below:

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Kamaru Usman sends an optimistic message after his UFC 278 loss against Leon Edwards

The Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards saga is currently tied at one apiece. Usman defeated Edwards via unanimous decision in 2015. Edwards avenged that defeat by beating Usman via fifth-round KO this weekend.

Despite getting viciously knocked out, Kamaru Usman sent a message of positivity soon after UFC 278. Ahead of a potential Edwards trilogy matchup that could transpire next year, Usman tweeted:

“I am truly overwhelmed by all the support. I am ok, just got caught in the right spot. These things happen. We will learn from them and do what greatness requires.”