UFC 286: EX-UFC champion reveals 3 reasons why Kamaru Usman will beat Leon Edwards in UFC 286: UFC News:Kamaru Usman, in his effort to reclaim the welterweight title from opponent Leon Edwards at this weekend’s UFC 286, will face one of the hardest obstacles of his career. Follow the latest UFC News Updates with InsideSport.IN
Kamaru Usman was knocked out in his previous welterweight title fight against Leon Edwards. Can “The Nigerian Nightmare” finally turn things around?
3 reasons why Kamaru Usman will beat Leon Edwards in UFC 286 London
#1. Kamaru Usman will beat Leon Edwards in UFC 286 to Reclaim his Title
All the speculation leading up to Kamaru Usman’s loss against Leon Edwards was that he may perhaps overtake Georges St-Pierre as the greatest welterweight in UFC history.
After nine successful defence, “GSP” gave up the welterweight championship to “Rocky” in 2013, and Usman would have advanced to six successful defence had he won.
While it’s unlikely that Usman will ever catch up to St. Pierre, his shocking loss has effectively ended any such speculation for the time being.
After all, “GSP” himself lost an upset bout to Matt Serra early in his title reign and eventually won the rematch. Ultimately, the death of a loved one had little impact on his legacy.
If Usman can beat Edwards this weekend and make amends for their first fight, he has a great chance to extend his dominance at 170 pounds, where Georges St-Pierre has built an impressive legacy.
As such, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ needs to win this fight at any cost. The possibility of him becoming the best welterweight in UFC history would be revitalized if he were to win back his belt. If he were to fail, the plan would be doomed.
UFC 286: EX-UFC champion reveals 3 reasons why Kamaru Usman will beat Leon Edwards in UFC 286 London
#2. After His Last Defeat To Leon Edwards, Kamaru Usman will come back stronger and more determined
Usman will enter the ring more focused than ever, and the last time he did that, he nearly knocked Jorge Masvidal’s head off.
The odds are in Usman’s favour this weekend because he is nearly impossible to defeat when he is focused and committed to victory.
No one can deny that Leon Edwards’ knockout of Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 was a legendary moment in the history of the octagon.
With about a minute remaining in the deciding round of a big title fight, the fighter struck a picture-perfect head kick after carefully setting it up.
Is it likely, though, that Edwards, a fighter of his calibre, will land such a punch again this coming weekend? To be quite honest, that’s probably not going to happen.
The kick wasn’t a fluke, that’s for sure. Edwards perfectly timed a kick to the body, which he followed up by pretending to throw at Usman in order to get his hands to drop, before finishing him off with a devastating uppercut. Even Nevertheless, it was still safe to state that this was a rare occurrence for ‘Rocky.
Edwards had only previously knocked out one other fighter on the feet in his UFC career, defeating Seth Baczynski by a head kick in 2015.
Edwards’ knockdown of Usman, like Gabriel Gonzaga’s knockout of Mirko Cro Cop with a similarly vicious head kick, was likely the kind of shot that won’t happen again.
If “Rocky” can’t connect with the knockout blow again, then Usman has a good chance of taking the win.
Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards fought at UFC 278 before, and Usman was the one who had to buckle under the pressure.
With wins over the likes of Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns under his belt, as well as an earlier victory over Edwards in 2015, “The Nigerian Nightmare” was a heavy favourite.
In contrast, “Rocky” stood to win a great deal and lose nothing by trying, since he was written off as having little chance of victory.
#3. Leon Edwards will be under more pressure as UFC 286 will be taking place in his home country
This weekend, though, that won’t be the case. It’s safe to assume that Edwards will be under significantly more stress than Usman.
The fight will not only be his maiden championship defence, but it will also take place in front of thousands of his compatriots, the vast majority of whom will be rooting for him to succeed.
Because Edwards hasn’t been the main attraction at all that many big events previously, he has no way of knowing what to expect under such intense scrutiny.
While “Rocky” is undeniably skilled in the ring, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him crack under the pressure.
While this may be true, Usman is no stranger to fighting under adverse conditions, such as in front of an unfriendly crowd. For whatever reason, “The Nigerian Nightmare” may feel more at ease this weekend, and it could give him the edge he needs to turn the game around.
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