Leon Edwards took time out of his busy UFC 296 preparations by taking on Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand in a hilarious grappling contest.
And the welterweight champion will be hoping for a similar outcome on December 16 when he defends his title against rival Colby Covington.
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Ferdinand was easily pinned by UFC champ Edwards inside the octagon
Edwards, who is coming off the back of back-to-back wins against Kamaru Usman, faced off against Ferdinand at the Team Renegade MMA gym in Birmingham.
Unsurprisingly, the TNT Sports pundit was no match for the 32-year-old, who was pinned down with ease.
The 2008 Champions League winner tried in vain to get out of Edwards’ grip, who effortlessly kept him on the canvas inside the octagon.
After a few seconds on top, ‘Rocky’ eventually let the 45-year-old go, with the pair all smiles following the light-hearted exchange.
Social media was loving the good-natured scrap, as one X user said: “Skill will always best size! Always!”
Another quipped: “Should of dropped an elbow.”
A third simply posted a fire emoji, clearly impressed by Edwards’ impressive technique.
Edwards recently stated he plans to move up to middleweight in the future in his quest to become the UK’s first UFC two-weight champion.
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The pair were all smiles with Ferdinand no match for Edwards
Rio Ferdinand jokes Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou fight is the closest he ever got to Ronaldo
Speaking of what fighters are on his radar, he told Sky Sports: “Sean Strickland, or Dricus Du Plessis.
“Those two are fighting [for the middleweight title], so any one of them would be great.
“Now is perfect; me going out there being the first-ever double-champion from the UK is the way to do it.
“That’s on the cards for sure.”
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