Yves Edwards competes to defy age-limits

Yves Edwards is still going as strong as ever despite being 35 years old and preparing for his 59th career MMA fight this Saturday night against Rafaello Oliveira at UFC Live 6.

For Edwards (40-17-1), training and fighting are just exciting today as they were when he first broke into the sport as a 21-year-old prospect in 1997, but in a different light.

“It’s a little different. Before, as a kid, I used to be like, ‘Man, I’m fighting this week, I’m all excited.’ Now, I don’t think about it too much, but when I do think about it, that’s when I get really excited,” said Edwards, in an interview with UFC.com recently. “I came home for a few days, and I walked around the house and I’m going, ‘Yeah, this is good.’ Then my wife starts cooking something and I’m like, ‘I can’t eat that.’”

Despite the cooking issues, Edwards’ wife has been very understanding and supportive of his career choice, despite the risk of injury in MMA. For his two children, however, that isn’t the same.

“The kids, that’s when it gets kinda scary, because you see something like that – I’ve seen it for years – and it looks so devastating. When it happens, it sucks, but it’s not as physically bad as it looks,” Edwards said. “I think I’ve been able to explain that to everybody. They see I’m still the same guy. I guess it’s a good thing that they love me regardless.”

Edwards was looking to build on a three-fight win streak before he was stopped by Sam Stout by knockout in June. He fought for the UFC between 2001-06, making stops with several other promotions during that time and since.

“One thing I like about the current UFC is that job security comes from being entertaining and going out there and laying it on the line,” Edwards said. “Yes, you do have to win, but there’s a benefit to being entertaining and really fighting your style. And to me, that’s my style; I cannot win a boring fight. If a fight’s boring, it’s probably because I’m losing.”

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

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MMATraining Take: Edwards is the type of fighter that just wants to put on a show. It doesn’t matter to him if he is part of the undercard or the pay-per-view main card, he is going to look for a finish right from the opening bell. Only 18 of his career fights have gone to a decision, with Edwards owning 14 knockout wins and 17 submission victories. The odds that this one ends early are pretty good.