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A trilogy fight between the current UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman is set to take place at UFC 286 in O2 Arena in London. Rocky’s newly clinched title will be at stake when he steps-in in front of his home crowd and he anticipates that the fight won't resemble the prior encounters at all.
After stunning Kamaru Usman with a powerful head kick in the last seconds of round 5, "Rocky" shocked the MMA fans. Edwards accomplished a comeback for the ages at UFC 278. Heading into the last round with a deficit on all three official score sheets, Edwards quickly realized he will now have to end the fight, and he did so gloriously.
Edwards, who is scheduled to be the last contestant to enter the canvas at the event, has been imagining not simply the instant he whacks the curtain and feels the cheers of the fans, but also how his third encounter with Usman will go through.
Ahead of the trilogy matchup with "The Nigerian Nightmare," the UFC welterweight champion chatted with Adam Catterall from BT Sport. He said that since he is unbeaten at home, he plans to enter the fight with self-belief.
“This time around it will be a totally different fight,” Edwards told BT Sport. “I’ve never lost in the U.K. I’ve never lost at UFC London. … Pro and amateur. So, I’m taking that confidence into it. I’m taking the confidence of knowing I can knock him out into it. I’m taking the confidence of knowing I can take him down into it. I’m taking the confidence of knowing that once it hits the mat and I’m on top, I’m way better. Just all taking into it. My heritage, my story, it’s all going into it. I just can’t see how he comes over and beats me.”
Leon Edwards is also the first person to KO "The Nigerian Nightmare" and the first person to officially take down Kamaru Usman out of a fight. The aggregate score between the two is 1-1, with Usman defeating Edwards in 2017. Edwards acknowledges that his approach on the night he clinched the welterweight title wasn't his finest.
“To beat the pound-for-pound on your worst night, I think that’s one of my worst performances as far as career-wise goes in the UFC,” Edwards said. “To be able to still stay calm under that going into the fifth round and to get the KO, I think that shows a character from me. That shows my mental I.Q. for the fight game, as far as knowing when to land that shot.
“I think taking all that into the fight, it’s going to be a good night for me. I know he’s tough, I know he’s good – I’m not deluded. I know he’s a good fighter, but I truly believe that I’m better and I can’t see how he comes over and beat me in London.”
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