Edwards ‘Never Threatened’ in Triumph Over McKenzie

---

A 13-year veteran of the sport, Yves Edwards has seen much in his time as a mixed martial artist.

As such, when young buck Cody McKenzie secured his back in the second round of their preliminary contest at UFC “Fight for the Troops 2,” the savvy Edwards kept his composure, even when the unorthodox Alaskan began to pepper him with punches.

“He’s so long and lanky,” Edwards told Sherdog.com following the fight. “It’s kind of hard to move those guys around when they’re on your back, but I never felt really threatened. The two times he hit me with shots, I thought they didn’t even hurt. Then, I heard the ref tell me that I had to work or escape or something. I think I tried to spring right back up, to show that I was fine and wasn’t in danger of being taken out.”

Following his scramble, the native Bahamanian was able to turn the tables, using McKenzie’s leg to leverage his way on top of his opponent.

“It’s classic jiu-jitsu. If you lift the leg off the floor, then he’s not going to be able to use it to help himself move. Once I got to side position, I was going to try to land some elbows, but he started protecting his face really well,” said Edwards. “That exposed his stomach for me to slide [my knee] across and mount. As soon as he turned around, I tried to sink the choke in.”

And sink the choke in Edwards did. The 34-year-old dug his forearm under McKenzie's chin almost instantaneously. When the Alaskan refused to tap, he went unconscious, his arms flailing and offering no resistance to Edwards’ constrictor-like squeeze.

“I think he was out for a while. It was weird. There was a point where I was on his back and I felt like he was out -- like he wasn't defending -- and then his hands started flailing,” said Edwards. “But he never really started grabbing at my wrist again, so I didn’t want to let go and have him sucker me out of the position.”

Before the fight hit the floor in the second frame, Edwards lit McKenzie up on the feet, using punches in bunches to batter his opponent and force McKenzie to shoot for takedowns.

“The first round, I was trying to feel him out. He’s really awkward with his movement and his stance, so I was throwing ones and twos,” said Edwards. “But the second round, immediately after the first combination I threw, I landed three or four punches, and I said to myself, ‘Combinations are the key to this fight.’”

Though Edwards triumphed over McKenzie at Fort Hood near Killeen, Texas, on Saturday night, the “thug-jitsu” originator was initially supposed to meet main-eventer Melvin Guillard. That match fell apart when Guillard stepped in to replace an injured Kenny Florian against Evan Dunham. On paper, Guillard would make sense as a next opponent for Edwards. When asked about the matchup, however, the veteran claimed that other options were more appealing.

“Melvin is a good friend of mine. At some point, [a fight between us] will probably come up again, but I don’t have any desire to derail one of my friend’s dreams. You should have seen me backstage when Melvin knocked [Dunham] out. I was jumping up and down, I was so happy. Ultimately, there can only be one guy at the top, but I love that kid, and I’m so proud of what he’s doing with his career and his life.”