Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Leon Edwards continued his welterweight surge last night (Sat., July 20, 2019) at UFC on ESPN 4 live on ESPN from inside AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, when he outlasted former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in their main event to earn a unanimous decision win and push his divisional win streak to eight.
Edwards was the one who secured the first takedown of the fight. The Englishman wasn’t able to do much damage as RDA played good defense but he controlled the Brazilian for a few solid minutes in the first round. Dos Aanjos eventually returned to his feet but he was met with a few hard elbows by Edwards to end the frame.
The second round saw Edwards land a nice hook to start. RDA kept busy with body shots along the cage but Edwards seemed too big and powerful to control. Edwards found a home for another elbow that badly cut dos Anjos’ eye, but the former UFC champion returned with hard leg kicks. An eventual kick forced Edwards to the canvas where RDA laid on top and scored good offense.
In Round 3, RDA opened up with a stiff jab. He then followed that up with more leg kicks as Edwards slowly defended. Dos Anjos’ eye kept bleeding as Edwards landed return offense in bunches, but RDA hung in tough and made the Englishman work. Edwards landed more punches to start the fourth round as he pieced together some crisp combos. RDA returned with a heavy body kick but “Rocky” didn’t seem to budge. The Brazilian kept plodding forward but Edwards was elusive with his footwork and head movement. Dos Anjos tried to mix it up with a flying knee late in the round only to have Edwards defend and secure clinch control to end the round.
The fifth and final round saw a desperate RDA throw with just a little more power. Edwards was still able to control the chaos and landed some sharp punches from the outside. “Rocky” then closed the gap and worked a good clinch against RDA along the cage, gaining a brief takedown in the process. In the end, the round went to Edwards and so did the fight, as the surging welterweight contender walked away with a unanimous decision win.
Check out the full fight highlights below courtesy of UFC/ESPN.
Nasty cut on RDA #UFCSanAntonio pic.twitter.com/4RbOzvQEtI
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 21, 2019
A smooth counter @Leon_EdwardsMMA turns RDA’s knee to the takedown! #UFCSanAntonio pic.twitter.com/n5SNC9Rrat
— UFC (@ufc) July 21, 2019
Slicing elbows from @Leon_EdwardsMMA! #UFCSanAntonio pic.twitter.com/r913rcgKfH
— UFC (@ufc) July 21, 2019
Leg kick after leg kick
They’re adding up for @RdosAnjosMMA. #UFCSanAntonio pic.twitter.com/UE8cZlEoTB
— UFC (@ufc) July 21, 2019
Elbows off his back for @RdosAnjosMMA #UFCSanAntonio pic.twitter.com/riEbb51bfN
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 21, 2019
For complete UFC San Antonio results and coverage click here.