Edwards (left)

By Kelsey Mowatt

To say 2012 has been a trying year for Yves Edwards may be putting it lightly, as the decorated vet has been forced to battle through arm surgery, and then, the cancellation of his long awaited return in October on the actual day of the fight. That’s not exactly how the 36 year-old vet had envisioned the first 10 months of the year playing out.

Now, in a rather strange turn of events, Edwards is set to fight Jeremy Stephens once again, after his scheduled opponent for UFC on FOX 5 in John Cholish, was forced out due to injury. It’s just the latest twist on a campaign that Edwards likely won’t soon forget.

“Yeah, it’s been a long one too,” Edwards recently said on Full Contact Fighter Radio, while discussing 2012 and the fact he is scheduled to fight Stephens once again, after the latter was arrested on October 5th and unable to compete. “But, it’s all good. It’s the fight that was supposed to happen before so there’s not too much of a difference. Just have to get back in and change a few things.”

In fact, when Edwards (41-18-1) steps in to the cage to fight Stephens in Seattle Saturday night, over a year will have gone by since he lost by unanimous decision to Tony Ferguson at the TUF 14 Finale last December.

“There’s been a few occasions where I’ve been sad,” Edwards admitted. “I was sad the night Jeremy and (Donald) Cerrone fought, you know, because that was supposed to be me in there. I was sad the night that we didn’t get to fight (versus Stephens), because I was pumped up; I had prepared a lot for that particular night….those are just moments, you know what I mean?”

“As soon as those moments are over I’m with people I love,” Edwards furthered. “I’m with my wife, I’m with my son, and I’m with my teammates and I’m having a good time…I’m living the dream. I’m doing what I want to do and I don’t have to answer to anybody…I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t be happy all the time.”

Yves Edwards

While Cholish has shown some promise in the Octagon, and scored a TKO win over Mitch Clarke in his UFC debut December, the lightweight is still a relative newcomer to the world’s largest promotion. Due to the fact that Stephens (20-8) has been fighting in the UFC for over five years, and has forged a reputation for being an aggressive and dangerous striker, Edwards understands why this match-up will likely garner much more attention.

“It’s one of those things where it’s definitely a more exciting fight,” said Edwards. “It’s more exciting for the fans and it’s more exciting for me, just because of the skill set alone. Jeremy and I are definitely going to go out there and throw some punches. That’s always a fun time for everybody involved….on top of that it’s a guy that more people know; it’s a fight that more people are interested simply because they know my name and his together.”

“It has nothing to do with John Cholish’s skills, the guy is good,” Edwards furthered. “There’s a reason why he’s in the UFC, but at the same time, name recognition kind of makes more excitement. It’s one of those things; I’d be more excited to see the Avengers 2 rather than the Revengers 2.”

Stephens is coming off back-to-back decision losses to two of the promotion’s top lightweights in Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone, after scoring consecutive wins over Danny Downes and Marcus Davis.

“I definitely want to keep this a technical fight,” said Edwards. “He’s dangerous when he can land his power shots. I’m dangerous when I keep the fight very technical, keep things fast paced and keep guys guessing where I’m at. So, that’s the fight I’m going to make and to implement that gameplan, to make that happen the way you want it to happen, is going to take skills and strategy.”

“If you’re a fight fan, or you have a lot of fight knowledge, I think when you see the way the fight plays out, the story is going to be a great story.”