Home Sports Bellator star Fabian Edwards claims he’ll be ‘too slick’ for Aaron Jeffery when they meet in Belfast – as British MMA fighter speaks on his defeat to Johnny Eblen and training with UFC champion, and brother, Leon

Bellator star Fabian Edwards claims he’ll be ‘too slick’ for Aaron Jeffery when they meet in Belfast – as British MMA fighter speaks on his defeat to Johnny Eblen and training with UFC champion, and brother, Leon

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Bellator star Fabian Edwards returns to the cage in Belfast on Friday night

This Friday night, British MMA star Fabian Edwards will get his chance at redemption when he takes on Aaron Jeffery in Belfast.

Edwards will take to the cage for the first time since late September, when he fell just short of glory in his Bellator middleweight title fight against Johnny Eblen.

America’s Eblen emerged victorious on the night and has since defended the belt at the recent ‘PFL vs Bellator Champions’ event.

Now Edwards is preparing to take part in a middleweight title eliminator bout against Jeffery at Bellator’s Champions Series and has insisted things will be different this time around.

Reflecting on his last fight, Edwards said: ‘I feel good. I feel like I haven’t stopped training since my last fight.

Bellator star Fabian Edwards returns to the cage in Belfast on Friday night

Bellator star Fabian Edwards returns to the cage in Belfast on Friday night

Edwards fell to defeat against Johnny Eblen (R) last time out, but is now looking to bounce back

Edwards fell to defeat against Johnny Eblen (R) last time out, but is now looking to bounce back

Edwards fell to defeat against Johnny Eblen (R) last time out, but is now looking to bounce back

‘You know what I mean? So I’m finally looking forward to going in there and just getting back to winning basically.

‘I feel like, uh, every fight you learn, right? I mean, win or lose. You’re supposed to go and learn and get better’.

‘I feel like from that fight… I feel like trusting myself a little more. Like trusting myself while I’m in that cage. I’ve seen a lot of shots.

‘I defended many things. So I felt like I should have trusted myself and taken more chances when I saw that, but you know we live and we learn, right?’.

Edwards will be aware that a win over Jeffery will secure him another shot at the Bellator middleweight title – currently held by Johnny Eblen.

Eblen was the only PFL champion in the most recent PFL vs Bellator event after he defeated Impa Kasanganay via split decision back in February.

Should Edwards prevail over Jeffery in their fight on Friday, the England star will earn a title shot against Eblen – who was later described as ‘very beatable’.

Of Eblen’s win, Edwards said: ‘Yeah, I watched the fight and I thought… it’s a weird one.

Edwards insists Eblen remain 'very beatable' despite defeat in their September clash

Edwards insists Eblen remains 'very beatable' despite defeat in their September clash

Edwards insists Eblen remains ‘very beatable’ despite defeat in their September clash

The British MMA star gets a chance at redemption when he takes on Aaron Jeffery

The British MMA star gets a chance at redemption when he takes on Aaron Jeffery

The British MMA star gets a chance at redemption when he takes on Aaron Jeffery

‘Cause when you lose to somebody, because you say, ‘Oh, he’s not that good’, everybody says, ‘But you just lost to the guy’. So the word doesn’t really stick.

“But I think he looked embarrassed. I felt like he hadn’t improved, to be honest. I thought I would have seen a Johnny Eblen who is strikingly improved. But his striking looked the same. And yes, he is very beatable. Very, very beatable.’

Although Edwards may have fallen to defeat against Eblen, he is confident that when he takes on Jeffery, there will be a different result for the British MMA star.

He declared: ‘I think I’ll just grind him up. You know what I mean? I want to go out there and be too smooth for this guy. That is it! I am honest.

‘I think with a lot of the big guys, they’re not really smart fighters. They don’t move well, they don’t feign well. I see that with Jeffery. I’m too smooth for him – I know I am’.

Edwards’ training and preparation will be aided by the fact that he is working alongside one of the best fighters on the planet – who also happens to be his brother.

UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, Fabian’s older brother, works closely with the Bellator challenger – which the latter insists has helped his game.

He explained: ‘I look like my brother as one of the smartest fighters. Enough fighters will say, ‘Yo, you gotta tuck your chin and swing.’ But he’ll say, ‘Look, you can move around, touch him, feint here, see an opening and pick a shot’.

Edwards' older brother, Leon (R), is the current UFC welterweight champion

Edwards' older brother, Leon (R), is the current UFC welterweight champion

Edwards’ older brother, Leon (R), is the current UFC welterweight champion

The Bellator star insisted that Leon is 'one of the smartest fighters' in the MMA scene

The Bellator star insisted that Leon is 'one of the smartest fighters' in the MMA scene

The Bellator star insisted that Leon is ‘one of the smartest fighters’ in the MMA scene

“And that’s also how I think. I mean, that’s the way I see the fighting game. So having him on the mats and people like Tom Breese – who was also in the UFC – it fills me with confidence!

‘Because we all get the job done together. We all lift each other up. You can’t beat that type of work.

“I just feel like you always trust a team, but once you go out there and you prove it to the world and you prove it to yourself, you’re like, ‘Nah, look, what we’re doing , works!’

‘Regardless of wins and losses, if you just stick with it and keep the same focus, we can get to where we want to go’.

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