Yves: ‘I want to make a really good run at that belt’
“People can say I was the uncrowned lightweight champ, but it sucks being the uncrowned champ of anything,” he says….
“People can say I was the uncrowned lightweight champ, but it sucks being the uncrowned champ of anything,” he says. “You don’t have the belt, and you never had it. I can’t put ‘uncrowned lightweight champion’ on my resume. That hurts so bad. That really still hurts, to tell you the truth.”
At 34 years old and with well over 50 pro fights to his credit, Edwards, now back in the UFC for the first time since 2006, has reached the stage in his career where he can’t help but wonder what his legacy will be when it’s all over.
The last two or three years of his career have been entirely too mediocre, he says, which is why his current run with the UFC is an opportunity he’s determined not to squander.
“I don’t feel like I’m close to the end of my career, but I’m more realistic about things now. I know I’m not a kid anymore and I’m not invincible. I still feel that way sometimes, but in the back of your mind you know every fight could possibly be your last. I think about what I want to leave behind, and no, I don’t want to leave behind the last couple of years. I want to leave behind something, a body of work that I can be proud of.”
For Edwards, as for just about every fighter in MMA, that means getting gold around his waist. The respect of the hardcore fans is nice, but it’s not something you can put your hands on or show your grandchildren.
“I want to make a really good run at that belt. And when I get there I want everyone to feel like, yeah, this is a legitimate fight. Ultimately, the goal is to retire with it. But at some point I feel like I have to get that belt. I have to.”
