Fabian Edwards: John Kavanagh babying SBG fighters signed to Bellator

Fabian Edwards anticipates problems getting some of Bellator’s bigger middleweight names to face him in the future.

Speaking after Bellator Dublin, the undefeated prospect underlined his plan to compete as much as possible. He had hoped to face off with SBG’s Will Fleury at this past weekend’s event.

“It could be a problem, especially if Bellator try to push me too fast,” Edwards to MMA Fighting’s Eurobash podcast. “They might be like, ‘This guy is only 9-0’ after I smoke Shipman, so I might have to carry on fighting whoever I can fight.”

“I’m not gonna lie, I was hoping to fight Will [Fleury] tonight, because that would’ve been another question I could’ve put to bed, but he got beat by the better man tonight and that’s it.”

Edwards claimed Fleury wanted to fight him, but SBG head coach John Kavanagh stopped the fight from happening.

“[Fleury] wanted it, but at the same time, his daddy [Kavanagh] had to say yes and his daddy said, ‘Hell no,’” he said. “Watching that fight back, I would’ve KO’d him stiff. He got caught with a load of sloppy shots; his defense is awful. He’s a tough kid for sure, but his defense and his offense are awful.”

Asked if he thought Kavanagh was favoring his fighters, Edwards doubled down.

“Of course [that’s happening],” he said. “I understand that he’s trying to baby everyone (and) he’s trying to look after them, but he tried to look after Will, and it just didn’t happen tonight. He thought he’d play it safe by giving him a guy that’s 3-0, but it still wasn’t a smart move. It doesn’t matter how much he tries to baby them, there are still some decent guys out there that will beat them.”

Fabian Edwards’ interview features on this week’s Eurobash. It begins at 10:00.