Leon Edwards Explains Postcode Wars: “People Died Without Knowing Why It Started”
Former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards recently spoke about postcode wars that have plagued England and other countries, including Jamaica where ‘Rocky’ spent much of his youth before moving to the UK.
For those unfamiliar, the postcode wars refer to a time when groups of teenagers, usually boys, would defend their “turf” by fighting gangs from other postal codes if they dared to enter a postcode they did not reside in. It’s not entirely different from the turf wars between rival gangs in the United States like the Crips and the Bloods that dominated American television in the mid-to-late 90s.
And just like with many of the big-name gangs in the U.S., kids and young adults in the UK would often put their lives on the line for what essentially amounted to a fierce pride in the area they called home and a consequential hate of anyone who wasn’t from there.
Unfortunately, gang culture is still as strong as ever in countries like England and Australia, often resulting in property damage, serious injury, and even death.
During a recent interview with Louis Theroux, Edwards spoke about his tough upbringing in Jamaica and on the mean streets of Birmingham where he often fought rivals entrenching on his turf.
“From school, you know, I’ve always—I’m the one that always, um—I’m the friend that, like, if you’re next to me, you’re in the fight. ‘Cause, you know, I won’t leave you, you know? And, um, so I had the name ‘Rocky’ from school,” Edwards said. “Straightener, just one-on-one. I don’t know, could—could be anything, or postcode, or whatever. It is weird, but at the time, I truly believed it.
“Um, I was group Erdington, say, like, B23. With a young mentality, and your friends are doing the same thing, and that’s your environment, I think you’re more likely to be a product of your environment. It’s like, same as Jamaica, you know? Like, there, the people that have died over it probably don’t even know the reason why it started. And they’ve died over it.”
Leon Edwards returns to the octagon on March 22
Of course, those days are long behind Leon Edwards. Today, ‘Rocky’ is one of the best pound-for-pound mixed martial artists on the planet.
After seeing his 12-fight win streak snapped by Belal Muhammad in his last outing, Edwards will return to the Octagon on March 22 when the UFC heads back to London for another stacked Fight Night in ‘The Big Smoke.’ In the main event of the evening, Edwards will face rising contender Jack Della Maddalena in a title eliminator — at least on Maddalena’s side of things.
