Joselyne Edwards has gotten off to a fast start in her UFC career.
The Panamanian fighter competed twice in three weeks to kick off her UFC run. Edwards (10-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) made her debut on short notice on Jan. 16 in Abu Dhabi, outpointing Yanan Wu. Just days after her first UFC bout, she accepted an offer to replace Bethe Correia and fight Karol Rosa on Feb. 6 in Las Vegas, where she lost a decision.
Now, having clocked in two short-notice fights, Edwards hopes to get a full camp for her next outing and move to a lower division.
“For the next fight I do want a full camp, I want to adjust certain things, and if the opportunity comes up, I think you’ll see my fight at 125 pounds,” Edwards told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “If the opportunity doesn’t come up, and I get another fight at 135 pounds, but I need to get stronger because my natural weight right now is at 140 pounds.”
Edwards thinks she’s better suited for flyweight, but doesn’t want to make the weight an excuse for falling short against Rosa at bantamweight. The 25-year-old fighter walks around 140 pounds, so a cut to 135 is not an issue for her.
Edwards is no stranger to flyweight, as she boxed amateur at 125 pounds prior to her MMA career. She also competed once at flyweight in MMA, defeating current Invicta FC fighter Trisha Cicero back in 2017.
“I truly feel like that’s my division,” Edwards explained. “I already spoke about it with my trainer and he thinks the same. We’re just taking things step by step. We got the opportunity to fight at 135 pounds and I wasn’t going to say no because I did start at 135, so that’s why I took the fights.”
Although Edwards finds flyweight to be her ideal weight class, she doesn’t want to fully shot the door at any opportunities that may come at bantamweight. As seen with her quick, two-fight start in the UFC, Edwards likes to keep busy.
“Ideally, if I could, I’d like to fight at 125 pounds but also I’d like to be able to fight in both divisions,” Edwards said. “I like to fight, I like to have fun, so I’d like to fight in the two weight classes. If I can make the weight, I’ll fight there.”
Edwards is currently in Panama visiting her family and resting from a shoulder injury. She hopes to return to the octagon sometime sometime in May.