“Still feel I’m the champion”- Kamaru Usman is on a mission to regain his belt from Leon Edwards in 2023


“Still feel I’m the champion”- Kamaru Usman is on a mission to regain his belt from Leon Edwards in 2023

Kamaru Usman getting KO'd at UFC 278.

Kamaru Usman was on the cusp of making history on August 20th when he was in a title fight against Leon Edwards at UFC 278. That fight had one of the most exciting finishes in UFC history. Usman had dominated every round of that fight and only a finish could get Leon the victory.

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With less than a minute remaining, Edwards threw a head kick that landed flush with Usman’s head as he went crashing into the mat. And just like that, Edwards was the champion, and Usman didn’t tie Anderson Silva as the fighter with the 2nd longest win streak in the UFC.

This is why it’s safe to say that the Nigerian Nightmare will be on a warpath at the inevitable rematch. In an interview with TMZ news, Usman revealed that he felt weird being introduced as UFC superstar instead of UFC Welterweight Champion. He said: “It feels a little weird. Even though internally, it doesn’t feel weird because I still feel I’m the champion.” Leon Edwards better be prepared for their trilogy fight as Usman seems ready, willing and able to take back his belt.

Usman also shed a little light on the details of when and where this fight would go down. In the same interview Usman said: “Yeah, top of next year. In London. Londontown.” He seemed very confident about his chances of winning this fight and the fan reception in London.

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He claimed he would have as many as, if not more fans than Leon Edwards in the arena at their trilogy fight. Leon Edwards probably won’t take too kindly to that statement considering he was brought up in Birmingham and began his MMA training there. As the reigning champion, Edwards will probably welcome the homefield advantage, though as the Nigerian Nightmare pointed out, it won’t matter inside the cage.

Read More: “‘You can’t recover from that KO’ – Khabib Nurmagomedov gives brutally honest reaction to Kamaru Usman loss at UFC 278

Kamaru Usman had an interesting take on losing the title and getting KO’d

Kamaru Usman defeated by Leon Edwards at UFC 278
Kamaru Usman defeated by Leon Edwards at UFC 278

Contrary to popular belief, being a UFC champion isn’t as glamorous as it might seem. If the Nigerian Nightmare, Kamaru Usman is to be believed, it’s hard.

He talked to Joe Rogan about losing the title and when Joe asked if it was a relief, Usman had this to say: “Yeah, its almost like a relief of everyone’s pressure. The GOAT this, the GOAT that.” Kamaru was referring to the expectations everyone had of him to break certain records. He wasn’t even aware of the records he was breaking and tying, he says he was only focused on winning the fights in front of him.

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Also read – “I don’t r*pe women” – Khabib Nurmagomedov seems to take a dig at fellow fighters as he reveals the reason behind not wearing the Russian flag to fight

Usman certainly was on the precipice of that greatness, though this loss doesn’t take anything away from his stellar record before it. He was certainly on one of the greatest runs seen in the welterweight division before the spectacular KO. Usman also talked about being knocked out by Leon Edwards and said he barely remembers anything. Kamaru said he was awake but he doesn’t remember much.

He said in the same episode of the JRE: “I shake left, I shake right, and I’m sitting in the ambulance and being like “What the f*c*?”…It was like Leon gave me like a 20-minute nap. And I was laughing hysterically in the hospital.” The Nigerian Nightmare said he was already okay by the time he reached the hospital, only a little disappointed because of the loss.

Also read – ‘He was never P4P GOAT’ – Leon Edwards shuts down Kamaru Usman’s claim to being the best pound-for-pound champion

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