British Jamaican UFC Fighter Leon Edwards Picks Dexta Daps’ ‘Shabba Madda Pot’ For Buzzing Walkout
UFC Fighter Leon Edwards brought the winning package to the ring in his most recent match from the moment he set foot in the arena.
The British Jamaican boxer was victorious against opponent Nate Diaz at Saturday’s event, but even before that, his entrance alone had the place buzzing. Getting back to business after many COVID-related delays, the born Kingstonian chose Dexta Daps’ battle anthem Shabba Madda Pot as his walkout song; not only did he whip the audience into a frenzy, but bolstered himself for his big moment.
The 29-year-old welterweight champion is as much a performer as the Dappa Don, and choosing the right walkout song is in itself a sort of talent. This isn’t his first time using the melodic track to incite fanfare, but the post-lockdown occasion only added to the charged atmosphere.
“It felt great having fans back in attendance. nothing compares to that energy. #lovemeorhateme #justwatchmewin”, he captioned his walkout video clip on Instagram on June 15, making sure to add the title of his stirring soundtrack, “🎶 @dextadaps – shabba madda pot 🇯🇲”.
For any fighter, song selection is most often a personal matter, and few Dancehall singles deliver underdog sentiments the way the WiFi deejay did in his soulful debut.
The 2016 song centers on gunplay but more importantly survival, chronicling fearless existence in the face of adversity and crippling circumstances. The gritty bars seem to hit home for the fighter who sang along to Dexta’s lines as he strolled through the crowd: “Shot fire every man a drop flat/ Everybody strap every pan a knock,” as if predicting his win against Diaz.
Edwards grew up surrounded by crime and lost his father to gun violence at the age of thirteen. He would become involved in criminal activity himself until his mother got him to join an MMA club at the age of 17. Now a professional mixed martial artist, Edwards has had only three losses in his entire career with 19 wins, his latest being Diaz, a previous winner on the television series The Ultimate Fighter 5.
Edwards’ nod to the Seaview native earned him a hero’s response in the comments.
“Put em up 4 d legend,” Dexta Daps commented with boxing glove emojis for the former BAMMA Welterweight Champion.
Over on Twitter, he was also hailed by another sportsman of Jamaican heritage, Daniel Sturridge, who tweeted his support. “Let’s goooooo!!!! @Leon_edwardsmma buzzing for you. Looking forward to watching a local lad in a title fight. @danawhite ima deffo need some tickets for this one bro!!”, he wrote.