Lee Chadwick eager to test prospect Fabian Edwards: ‘I want to teach him a lesson’

Former Cage Warriors champion Lee Chadwick will undoubtedly be the toughest test of prospect Fabian Edwards’ young career when they lock horns on the main card of Bellator Newcastle this Saturday night.

Despite having 33 more fights to his name than the 5-0 up-and-comer, Chadwick took exception to some of the things Edwards was saying on social media when he first signed for Bellator and prompted his management to see if the fight could be made.

“He was talking a lot of sh*t online and he tagged my name, Mike Shipman’s and Gegard Mousasi’s,” Chadwick told Eurobash.

“He’s trying to run before he walks, he’s shouting people out online that are far more experienced than him; guys who have done more in the U.K. than him and of course, the champion, Mousasi. I asked my management team to get me the fight. I said, ‘If he wants to prove that he can take someone out like myself then he needs to get in the cage and prove it.’”

Although Edwards has been heralded as one of the best prospects on the U.K. scene, Chadwick is adamant that there are still a lot of questions marks when it comes to his ability.

“I don’t think he’s shown enough of an all round game so far. He hasn’t been tested on the ground and he hasn’t been tested in a war. He hasn’t been tested anywhere really, he’s just got a nice little tailor-made record. He looks good, he likes to bounce about and look fancy and that’s just not the kind of fight he’s going to get this Saturday.”

He also completely denied Edwards’ accusations of him using PEDs: “He’s just lying, he’s got no proof; I’d take a drug test tomorrow and laugh in his face.”

Chadwick believes that Edwards’ hype is reliant on him staying unbeaten and he thinks “The Assassin” will wake up on Sunday morning with a dilemma on his hands after suffering his first career defeat.

“He’s got his own little fantasy thinking that he’s better than everyone. You’ve got to put pen to paper before you can talk like that, you’ve got to get the results and beat these people. He hasn’t beaten anyone yet, he hasn’t beaten any top guys yet. He’s done well with his mouth to get to where he is in the rankings. It’s just all hype and he’s going to get found out,” said Chadwick.

“Sunday morning they’re going to realize when they’re holding their head between their hands,” he added. “They’re taking a big risk, where is he going to go from this? It’s all based on his talk and him being undefeated, what’s he going to do when he’s been beat?”

“The Butcher” is adamant that he will prolong his beating of Edwards for as long as he possibly can on Saturday night.

“When I’m beating him down in that cage I’m going to be thinking about everything he said about me. I’m going to use it in a controlled manner, but I’m going to hurt him. I want to hurt him, I don’t want the ref to stop it and I’ll be fighting. Usually when I’m in a cage, I’m looking to get out of there as quickly as possible, but I want to teach him a lesson.”