Make no mistake, British MMA is alive and kicking

"There's never been a stock of fighters boasting so much talent at one time from these shores and this Golden Generation could help the domestic scene to explode over the next few decades."

Those were my parting words in this column back in March and it seems I underestimated just how quickly this Golden Generation would take to come to the fore.

British MMA is alive and kicking, demanding its rightful place on the map, starting with the UFC and new welterweight champion Leon Edwards.

Last month, Rocky became just the second British fighter to win UFC gold, following in the footsteps of Michael Bisping in 2016, when he stunned Kamaru Usman in Salt Lake City.

The Nigerian was making the sixth defence of his belt, sat number one in the pound-for-pound rankings and hadn't lost a fight since 2013 - including a win over Edwards in 2015.

Undeterred, Edwards went back to the gym, knuckled down and following a long and arduous journey he emerged as the champion of the welterweight division courtesy of a perfectly timed high-kick to Usman's head.

To some it appeared to be one last act of desperation from a fighter behind on the judges' scorecards in the fifth and final round and many suggested he got lucky.

That just simply wasn't true.

"I fear not the man who has practised 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practised one kick 10,000 times," Bruce Lee famously said, but Usman clearly didn't heed this warning.

Video footage has since emerged of Edwards drilling that same fight-winning kick over and over after his coaches spotted Usman's tendency to dip down when defending attacks.

It's a highlight-reel moment and one that sent shockwaves through the MMA world. Usman had been untouchable but, like Britain's only other UFC champion Bisping, Edwards upset the odds big time.

After having the belt fastened around his waist, Edwards proclaimed: "You all doubted me, look at me now," and it's true, Rocky has been written off more times than most, but as his nickname suggests, he's a dogged character and giving up was never an option.

Birmingham's Edwards is now the shining beacon for the rest of the British MMA hopefuls, proving success can be achieved even if the path to the top is littered with hurdles.

One of the major challenges has been the longstanding debate over whether to stay and train in England or head to America to develop at some of the more notable gyms, but Edwards has proven working close to home can be just as effective with the right team.

Irish superstar Conor McGregor, it could be argued, set the wheels in motion for staying local. Notorious still trains primarily out of SBG in Dublin and is under the tutelage of head coach John Kavanagh.

McGregor went on to become a two-weight champion in the UFC and changed the landscape for good.

Another issue facing British fighters is the lack of events staged on UK or even European soil.

The UFC has been extremely North America-focused with a combined 462 events taking place in America and Canada since it debuted with UFC 1 in 1993.

Brazil is next on the list with 37 and then the UK with 26, while Germany is the next most visited European country with just six.

But the tide is starting to turn thanks to a greater appetite from a growing fanbase who have been inspired by fighters from this continent.

London's O2 Arena has hosted events twice this year, both of which sold out in minutes, where the likes of Tom Aspinall, Paddy Pimblett, Molly McCann, Arnold Allen and Muhammad Mokaev all rose to the occasion in front of a home crowd.

Aspinall, ranked sixth in the heavyweight division, headlined both times in the capital, winning in March before suffering a torn MCL and some ACL damage just seconds into his fight with Curtis Blaydes in July, halting his charge at the title.

Pimblett, McCann, Allen and Mokaev sealed back-to-back wins and have subsequently seen their stock rise to meteoric levels.

It's not just the UFC either. We've seen Bellator and the Professional Fighters League (PFL) both rock up in the UK this year as they look to tap into the evolving market.

In Bellator, Fabian Edwards, Leon's younger brother, is the number two-ranked middleweight, Michael 'Venom' Page is the two-ranked welterweight, while Linton Vassell is also ranked second in the heavyweight division. All three will be setting their sights on titles within the next 12 months.

PFL, meanwhile, is a new concept, starting out in 2018, where fighters battle it out over a season in a league format with $1million up for grabs in each of the six weight classes.

London and Cardiff hosted playoff action last month and there is a high chance of British success with English featherweight Brendan Loughnane and Scottish lightweight Stevie Ray both set to feature in the finals of their respective weight classes in November.

There's no questioning that the future looks extremely bright and 2023 could prove to be a seminal year for the UK MMA scene across each of those promotions.

The pinnacle, of course, is UFC gold and after Edwards' success and the firm foundations laid in 2022, it's now almost unthinkable that we'll have to wait another six years for the next home-grown champion.