FIGHT fans have slammed the omission of UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards from the list of BBC Sports Personality of the Year nominees.
The six nominees for the prestigious award were confirmed on Tuesday.
They are England’s Euros hero Beth Mead, England cricket captain Ben Stokes, world champion gymnast Jessica Gadirova, Winter Olympic gold medallist Eve Muirhead, seven-time snooker world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, and 1500 metre world champion Jake Wightman.
But those with a keen eye on MMA have been left distraught by the absence of Edwards, 31.
At UFC 278 in August, the Brit was handed the unenviable task of trying to defeat champion Kamaru Usman – who up until then was on a 19-fight winning streak, a run which stretched back to 2013.
And it looked as though Usman, 35, was heading towards a unanimous decision victory as the five-round contest headed into the final minute.
But Edwards, who suffered a loss to Usman back in 2015, produced a remarkable leg kick to the head of The Nigerian Nightmare, knocking him out cold to win the fight in the most sensational fashion.
And some of the leading voices in fight sports simply do not understand him being overlooked for the SPOTY shortlist.
BT Sport’s UFC presenter Adam Catterall said: “Did anybody see that Leon Edwards fella becoming an undisputed UFC world champion, beating the P4P number one with a KO of the year contender in the last minute of a fight he was losing? Me neither as it wasn’t on the BBC!”
Catterall’s colleague Nick Peet added: “As always, fight sports overlooked by out of touch Auntie!
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“Leon Edwards defeats P4P #1, only 2nd British UFC champ in history.
“Natasha Jonas unifies super-welter division with 3 wins in 9 months.
“Brendan Loughnane wins 4 fights in 8 months to be UK’s 1st PFL champ.”
TalkSPORT presenter Ade Oladipo then said: “How does this list come about?
“Where is Leon Edwards? Do people understand how dominant Usman was?”
Edwards and Usman are due to face off for a third time at UFC 286 in London on March 18.
