"He's handled the loss like a champ" - Fans rally behind Kamaru Usman for being an excellent sport after brutal KO loss to Leon Edwards

Kamaru Usman [Images via @ESPNKnockOut on Twitter and @usman84kg on Instagram]
Kamaru Usman [Images via @ESPNKnockOut on Twitter and @usman84kg on Instagram]

Kamaru Usman has seemingly won fans' hearts with the way he is handling his title loss to Leon Edwards. The showing was dominant from Usman before he was knocked out by a brutal head kick in the main event at UFC 278 last weekend.

'The Nigerian Nightmare' gave due credit to his opponent and claimed to be in good spirits despite the shocking KO loss. Reiterating his sentiments, Usman said in a recent Instagram Live session:

"Congrats to Leon Edwards. Leon 'Rocky' Edwards. Congrats! What a way to pull it up! And you know, like I said, 'I'll see you soon boy.'"

Fans are impressed with the former champ's attitude after his title loss. Many believe that Usman's collected attitude speaks loads about his confidence in a potential rubber matchup. @tonyv1299 wrote:

"He's handled the loss like a champ. There's a lot of silver lining to his loss and I think he sees that. He's got reason to be confident in the rematch, he can become the 2nd ever 2 time WW champ next to GSP, go on another run for a few fights and then solidify pfp again."

While fans are unanimously rallying behind Usman, some couldn't help but hilariously point out the 'smacking' noises made by the former welterweight champ in his Instagram video.


Khabib Nurmagomedov wonders if Kamaru Usman will recover from his KO loss to Leon Edwards

Prior to his loss against Leon Edwards, Kamaru Usman's last defeat dates back to his second professional outing in 2013. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' walked through almost the entire welterweight roster on his way up to UFC gold and the five title defenses that followed.

Despite Edwards being on a nine-fight win streak, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' was a massive favorite leading up to their UFC 278 clash. Usman would have even justified the odds if not for a perfectly timed left head kick from 'Rocky' in the last minute.

Former UFC lightweight king Khabib Numragomedov is worried about Kamaru Usman fully recovering from the shocking KO defeat. Nurmagomedov, who is also Usman's stablemate at Dominance MMA, was admittedly a little upset to see his friend lose. 'The Eagle' noted that fighters often find it difficult to recover from a knockout of this magnitude. The UFC Hall of Famer told Ушатайка (Ushatayka):

"I’m aware that the trilogy is already in the works. I believe he can beat Leon Edwards. But after such a knockout, a lot of people don’t recover. It will be interesting to see. But I would love to see the trilogy. They are 1-1.” [h/t Mr. MMA Shorts]

Watch the clip below:

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