Considering potential knockout power of his opponent, light-heavyweight Christian Edwards might have played things a little more conservatively than he would have liked in his bout versus Simon Biyong at Bellator 261 this past June, but nonetheless picked up the win.
After three rounds, Edwards had clearly done enough work in the fight to warrant a unanimous decision victory, keeping his undefeated streak alive to start his career.
“Of course I would have liked the finish, and realistically could have gotten the finish in the first round, but I was trying not to be overly aggressive looking for the finish,” Edwards told MMAWeekly.com.
“I didn’t want to take a chance and do nothing crazy, but overall I feel the fight went well. I’ll look to impress even more than I did in this next upcoming fight.”
Thought it might not have been his most impressive performance, Edwards feels like the win continues to show that he’s not one to be easily boxed in as one type of fighter.
“I’m always trying to evolve and get better; that way nobody can ever say that Christian fights this way or Christian has to do this,” said Edwards. “I study more tape on myself than I do my actual opponent. I’m looking for something to work on.
“Me, evolving as a fighter, since my first fight with Bellator it’s been crazy. It’s something I find hard to believe how much I’ve improved and evolved since then.”
On September 18 in San Jose, California, Edwards (6-0) will look to remain undefeated when he takes on Ben Parrish (4-1) in a main card 205-pound bout at Bellator 266.
Nasrat Haqparast’s mother has died, just weeks before fight with Dan Hooker
“I’m not looking past Ben in any way, but at the same time I know what I’m capable of and my skillset, and I believe right now that there’s nobody in the Bellator light heavyweight division that can deny me what I’ve known to be true since I started MMA that I’m destined for greatness,” Edwards said.
“This is just someone in the way. I have to go out there and honestly just put a beating on him. I’ll shake his hand and thank him for the fight, but right now he’s in my way, and I’m going to have to put a beating on him for sure.”
Edwards would like to compete again before the end of 2021, but even if he doesn’t, the most important thing is that his next opponents help him continue his climb up the light-heavyweight ranks.
“Honestly I’d like to get back in there one more time, at least by December so I can have four fights this year, but if not I’ll won’t be necessarily hurt about it,” said Edwards.
“After this fight I’ll be 6-0 all under Bellator, and the guys I’ve fought aren’t like chumps or anything, they’re not like scrubs, they’re not like the Top 10 guys. I am elite, so I want to fight someone else elite. I’ll just wait until they give me someone who’s elite; in the Top 10.”