Michael Bisping has given his thoughts on Leon Edwards’ dramatic title victory at UFC 278.

Many years ago at UFC 199, Michael Bisping knocked Luke Rockhold out to become the new UFC middleweight champion. ‘The Count’ was considered to be an underdog in that contest but despite that, he was still able to pull a rabbit out of the hat in the form of a fantastic KO that crowned him the first UFC champ from the United Kingdom.

For years we’ve been wondering when someone else from the region would ascend to the top of the sport and earlier this month, we finally got our answer as Leon Edwards also produced an upset win to capture the gold at welterweight.

The two men are the only members of a very elite club and as such, will always share a special bond.

When analysing what went down in the main event of UFC 278, Bisping couldn’t help but praise Edwards.

“This is all about Leon Edwards and me saying congratulations to you, my friend. I am so proud of him, it is absolutely unbelievable what he achieved.”

“My god, shin on chin, it connected - absolutely beautiful. One shot, kill shot, down went the champ, unconscious, eyes open looking into the shadow realm. Unbelievable. It was executed so perfectly, and it doesn’t matter about rounds two, three and four, he went out there and got the job done in round five and he’s now the champion of the world.”

“He has a lot of options going forward, he’s the talk of the town, he’s gonna make a s*** load of money, and he’s gonna have a lot of opportunities coming his way. I’m so happy for him.”

What does the future hold?

Leon Edwards is still enjoying his victory tour in the wake of the big win over Kamaru Usman. In a couple of weeks, when the dust eventually settles, he’ll have the chance to take a long look at the division and figure out what’s going to come next.

A showdown with Jorge Masvidal has been heavily rumoured but in reality, an immediate trilogy match against ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is going to be the popular frontrunner.

Wembley Stadium has been mentioned by Dana White as a possible venue, but either way, England will probably be the host nation.