Edwards started his MMA career at the age of 17, driven by a desire to escape the rough neighborhood he grew up in. His early years in Birmingham were tough, with violence and crime all around him. But Edwards found solace in martial arts, channeling his energy into training and improving his skills.
His professional debut came in 2011, and it didn’t take long for Edwards to make a name for himself. He joined the UFC in 2014 and quickly established himself as a fighter to watch. Known for his striking skills and strategic mind, Edwards steadily climbed the welterweight rankings. With an increase in MMA rankings, we take a look at not only his career development but also earnings over the years.
Early Days
One of his most notable early fights was against Vicente Luque in 2017. Edwards won by unanimous decision, showcasing his technical prowess and earning respect from fans and fighters alike. This victory was a turning point, boosting his confidence and solidifying his place in the division.
With UFC PPV sitting at a mere 59.99$ in 2017, this also meant that Edwards only brought home just over 24,000 with almost all of it being from the base salary. As such was the case, he could not propel his net worth, as he was merely trying to stay in the business. While this would change in later years, fight earnings for Edwards between his first fight in 2014 and later fights in 2019 (including sponsorships) would peak at just over 100,000$.
Pandemic Changes
The pandemic year of 2020 brought more challenges. Edwards had multiple flights canceled due to COVID-19, which stalled his momentum. This posed another financial risk, as he had no fights between 7/20/2019 until 3/13/2021, which took a hit to his net worth. This stands as one of the reasons why most people estimate his net worth to be in the 1.5M range.
That opportunity came in 2021 when he faced Belal Muhammad. Though the fight ended in a no-contest due to an accidental eye poke, Edwards showed he was still a top contender. Later that year, he fought Nate Diaz in a high-profile bout. Despite a late scare in the fifth round, Edwards secured a unanimous decision victory, proving he belonged among the elite.
Current Earnings and Projected Net Worth
Aside from his contractual fight earnings, Leon Edwards also has a number of other income sources. These include two performance bonuses of 50,000$ each. One for his fight against Victor Altamirano at UFC 278 and the other for his fight against Maryna Moroz. Alongside this income stream, he also endorses brands MyProtein, RDX Sports and Montirex and receives direct sponsorships from Monster Energy, Menswear and Venum.
We estimate that the first fight he ever did in 2014 netted a sponsorship of 10,000$ while later fights have been in the 5-10,000 range until 2021. With more data being publicly available, we estimate the Usman and Colvington fight sponsorships at around 30,000-40,000$ each instead. This would line up with his biggest fight purse, which was Usman at 1.5M. Therefore, unlike some more conservative estimates, we think his net worth is in the 3M range.
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