Brendan Schaub believes UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards has Michael Bisping to thank.

‘Rocky’ faced Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 last Saturday night in Salt Lake City, Utah. The bout was a rematch of their previous matchup in December 2015. In that outing, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ picked up the victory by unanimous decision.

However, in the rematch last weekend, the Brit evened up the series at one apiece. In the fifth round of their main event encounter, Edwards landed a devasting head kick that put Usman out cold. With the victory, the Birmingham-native became welterweight champion.

Also with the knockout, Leon Edwards became the second British champion in UFC history. The first man from the U.K. to hold a title was former UFC middleweight Michael Bisping. ‘The Count’ earned the strap with a knockout victory over Luke Rockhold in June 2016.

In the eyes of Brendan Schaub, Michael Bisping deserves some credit for Leon Edwards claiming gold. The fighter-turned-podcaster discussed the former champion on The Schaub Show. There, he praised the Brit for helping develop the British MMA scene.

“Everything [Leon Edwards] does is based out of Birmingham, England.” said Brendan Schaub on The Schaub Show. “He is a full-on, f*cking thoroughbred of a Brit to get it done. Granted, [Michael] Bisping’s 100% percent f*cking British, and the reason why Leon Edwards is where he is today. Don’t get it twisted, the U.K. scene wouldn’t be anywhere it is today without what Michael Bisping has done.”

“He’s the pioneer, he’s the Rosa Parks of British fighters. First one to become [UFC] champion, first one to win the Ultimate Fighter, first one to beat these huge names. His fight with Anderson Silva is one of my favorite of all time. Michael Bisping is a straight-up legend. I don’t think there will ever be a Brit more important than Michael Bisping.”

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