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Henry Cejudo has cast his prediction for the highly anticipated rematch between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards this weekend.
'The Nigerian Nightmare' and 'Rocky' head into the cage at UFC 278, seven years on from their first fight. Usman defeated Edwards via unanimous decision last time, but each fighter has made major strides since. The Nigerian has captured the welterweight title and defended it on multiple occasions whereas the Jamaican-British fighter is flying high on an undefeated 10-fight streak.
Speaking on a video on his channel, 'Triple C' backed his friend Kamaru Usman to take the victory, stating that he's the "most diverse fighter" in the organization:
"I am going with Usman. Number one, is his experience. Number two is his [Leon Edwards] inactivity. Number three is the fact he's already been in there with Leon Edwards. This is why I'm going to go with Usman for the later rounds. I've seen Edwards in the fight with Nate Diaz, the fact he can fatigue... I just think he's [Kamaru Usman] the most diverse fighter."
Cejduo was referring to the activity of both fighters. While he has been dealing with injuries for most of 2022, Usman fought thrice in 2021, successfully defending his title each time. In comparison, 'Rocky' had a two-year hiatus from 2019 until he faced Belal Muhammad and Nate Diaz last year.
Catch Henry Cejudo's full fight breakdown here:
Kamaru Usman responds to Leon Edwards' comments that questioned whether he was the same fighter anymore
Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has hit back at Leon Edwards after the latter questioned 'The Nigerian Nightmare's desire to continue fighting.
Throughout the fight build-up, 'Rocky' has regularly referred to Usman's recent hand surgery and issues with his knees. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' underwent a significant operation on his hand to fix ligaments at the beginning of the year but suffered multiple setbacks while recovering. The Jamaican-British fighter believes Usman is no longer the same fighter as he was before.
During an interview with Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, the welterweight champ responded to Edwards:
"No, it's great, I'm glad he thinks that. Anyone who's ever been an athlete, we know that practice is practice. No one gives a s**t what you can do in practice. If you're not out there doing it against the best in the world time and time again, then how do you know where your level really is?"
The 35-year-old added:
"I'm glad he got that time off. I'm glad he's healed up, he's strong. The one thing about that though is he has to be careful because you feel that and that's gassing you up. You feel jazzed up about that, but what happens when this guy that's been in wars, that has taken 'punishment' as you said, comes out and dominates you again? How do you feel about that and how bad does that break you on the inside as a man?"
Catch Kamaru Usman's full interview here:
