Leon Edwards BLAMES AKA gym training for a defensive mindset that cost him the first fight against Kamaru Usman
Leon Edwards believes training with Khabib at AKA gym was the reason he lost the first fight against Kamaru Usman.
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Leon Edwards and Khabib Nurmagomedov (Image Courtesy: Birmingham Live)
Leon Edwards has fought Kamaru Usman twice, and the rivalry is currently 1-1 between the fighters. Recently at UFC 278, Edwards took revenge for the first loss he experienced against Usman at UFC on Fox 17. Edwards’ revenge was a perfect knockout, taking the welterweight championship from Usman. However, in the first fight, Edwards was mostly clueless against Usman.
He said: “When I lost to Usman. Leading up to the fight, the talk was in the UK, you have to go to America to learn your wrestling. So I went to America, I went to AKA and that camp was more focused on defending wrestling or thinking what I needed to do is more about just don’t get taken down. That’s what played a big part in that loss. I went in there with a defensive mind state.”
In a recent interview, Edwards mentioned that in his first fight, his wrestling was not that good and he went to American Kickboxing Academy to learn it. Edwards trained with the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, and Daniel Cormier at AKA under coach Javier Mendez. However, according to the fighter, his time in AKA had a negative impact on his fight with Usman because he became way too defensive. Edwards mentioned that his training at AKA left him with a defensive mindset and made his way more cautious, so he wasn’t naturally fighting.
Leon Edwards MMA gym and coaches who helped him win the welterweight title
Obviously, training at AKA under Javier Mendez didn’t work that well for Leon Edwards, but things have changed a lot since then. Currently, Edwards trains with people like David Lovell and Joby Clayton of Renegade Gym in Birmingham. Fans will always remember the in-between-rounds speech by Lovell at UFC 278 that helped Edwards win the fight.
“I’ve always found Leon to have this wonderful blend of confidence and intelligence and since the victory, he’s become even more confident. But it’s also given him so much experience that he can now bring to London,” said Clayton.
During the UFC embedded series of UFC 286, Joey Clayton mentioned that Edwards is currently filled with confidence and is working very hard to get better than the last time.
Edwards has proved in the past what he’s capable of and his winning mentality is just elite level. It is going to be a full house in London as the English fans will love to see their homegrown hero defend the belt.
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