Leon Edwards describes his winning effort against Kamaru Usman as the “Worst Performance of His Career” at UFC 278
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Edwards was disappointed in his performance at UFC 278
Leon Edwards went from being the most doubted fighter on the entire UFC roster to pulling off one of the biggest upsets in the company’s history over Kamaru Usman. It was not an upset because Leon’s abilities were in question before the fight but because of how dominant Usman was as the rounds piled on.
In the opening round of the fight, Leon changed the entire narrative leading into the fight by becoming the first person in the UFC to score a take down over Kamaru Usman. This led many to believe ,including Leon himself that this was definitive omens that he was going to walk out of Utah as champion.
However, standing opposite him was one of the toughest UFC Champs in history, and Usman would go on to display why it is so by almost neutralizing Leon’s striking with the threat of Kamaru’s wrestling. While Leon is known for his clinch work, especially with his elbows and knees, he would not be able to use any of it against Usman, who constantly piled on rounds by scoring simple takedowns and making Leon doubt himself.
Leon Edwards wishes to correct his many mistakes in the rematch with Kamaru Usman
By the fifth round, all but Leon’s coach and Jon Anik had given up on the Brit with Daniel Cormier saying, “It seems he has accepted losing a decision to Usman” to which Anik countered by saying, “That’s not the cloth he is cut from” Almost on cue Leon faded his left to throw a heavy head kick that would send Usman’s lifeless body to the canvas.
This is why it was probably one of the biggest upsets in championship fight history. Down 3 rounds and possibly losing the fifth as well, no one expected Leon to win the fight via a KO this late in the fight. Moreover, it was Kamaru Usman standing opposite him, someone who strikers like Jorge Masvidal had trouble landing clean on.
While most fighters would have been happy with this result, Leon believes UFC 278 was among the worst performances of his career. At the post-fight press conference, he would say, “Even though that was one of my worst performances, I did not feel like myself tonight, I went out there and took out the pound for pound, it is what it is”
Edwards arrived in Utah almost 2 weeks prior to the event in order to acclimatize with the altitude, and while he didn’t feel the cardio issues like many fighters on his undercard, Leon surely didn’t feel like everything was clicking for him that night. “It was the best version of him against the worst version of me and the rematch won’t be the same”, said Leon about how he felt he would perform the next time the two squared off.
Dana White has expressed wanting to make the rematch happen in England, throwing around Wembley as a possible venue despite his reservations about huge stadiums and the UFC experience
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Jerin Mathew
(713 Articles Published)