This Friday night, British MMA star Fabian Edwards will get his shot at redemption as he takes on Aaron Jeffery in Belfast.

Edwards will take to the cage for the first time since late September, where he fell just short of glory in his bout for the Bellator middleweight title against Johnny Eblen.

America’s Eblen emerged as the victor on the night and has since defended the belt during the recent ‘PFL vs Bellator Champions’ event.

Now, Edwards is preparing to take part in a middleweight title eliminator bout against Jeffery in Bellator’s Champions Series and has insisted that things will be different this time around.

Reflecting on his last fight, Edwards said: ‘I feel good. I feel like, since my last fight, I haven’t stopped training.

Bellator star Fabian Edwards will make his return to the cage in Belfast on Friday evening

Edwards fell to defeat against Johnny Eblen (R) last time out but is now looking to bounce back

‘You know what I mean? So I’m finally I’m looking forward to going in there and just getting back to winning ways, basically.

‘I feel like, um, each fight you learn, right? I mean, win or lose. You’re meant meant to go and learn, and better yourself’.

‘I feel like from that fight… I feel like trusting myself a bit more. Like trust in myself whilst I’m in that cage. I’ve seen a lot of shots.

‘I was defending a lot of things. So, I felt like I should’ve trust myself and took more opportunities when I when I saw it, but you know, we live and we learn, eh?’.

Edwards will be well-aware that a victory over Jeffery will secure him another shot at the Bellator middleweight title – which is currently held by Johnny Eblen.

Eblen was the only PFL champion in the recent PFL vs Bellator event after he defeated Impa Kasanganay via split decision back in February.

Should Edwards triumph over Jeffery in his bout on Friday, the English star will earn himself a title against Eblen – who later described as ‘very beatable’.

On Eblen’s victory, Edwards said: ‘Yeah I watched the fight and I thought… like, it’s a weird one.

Edwards insists that Eblen remains ‘very beatable’ despite defeat in their September bout

The British MMA star will get a chance at redemption when he takes on Aaron Jeffery

‘Because when you lose against someone, for you to say: ‘Ah he’s not that good’, everyone’s like, ‘But you just lost against the guy’. So the word don’t stick that much.

‘But I think he looked s***. I felt like he hadn’t improved if I’m honest. I thought I would’ve seen a Johnny Eblen who’s striking improved. But his striking looked the same. And yeah, he’s very beatable. Very, very beatable’.

While Edwards may have fallen to defeat against Eblen, he’s confident that when he takes on Jeffery, there’ll be a different outcome for the British MMA star.

He declared: ‘I just think I’m gonna slick him up. You know what I mean? I’m gonna go out there and be too slick for this guy. That’s it! I’m being honest.

‘I find that with a lot of the big guys, they’re not really slick fighters. They don’t move well, they don’t feint well. I see that in Jeffery. I’m too slick for him – I know I am’.

Edwards’ training and preparation will be aided by the fact he works alongside one of the best fighters on the planet – who just so happens to be his brother as well.

UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, Fabian’s older brother, works closely with the Bellator contender – which the latter insists has helped his game.

He explained: ‘I look as my brother as one of the smartest fighters. Enough fighters will go: ‘Yo, you need to tuck your chin and swing’. But he’s gonna go: ‘Listen, you can move around, touch him, feint here, see an opening and pick a shot’.

Edwards’ older brother, Leon (R), is the current UFC welterweight champion

The Bellator star insisted that Leon is ‘one of the smartest fighters’ in the MMA scene

‘And that’s the way I think as well. I mean, that’s the way I look at the fight game. So, to have him on the mats and the likes of Tom Breese – who was also in the UFC – that fills me with confidence!

‘Because we’re all getting the work in together. We’re all elevating eachother together. You can’t beat that type of work.

‘I just feel like you always trust in a team but once you go out there and you prove it to the world and you prove it to yourself, you’re then like: ‘Nah listen, what we’re doing is working!’

‘Regardless of the wins and the losses, if you just stick at it and maintain the same focus we can get to where we want to get to’.