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Kamaru Usman has revealed the moment in his rematch against Leon Edwards which was more disappointing than the KO loss. Usman defeated Edwards via unanimous decision in their first fight back in 2015.
Furthermore, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ was leading 3-1 on the judges’ scorecards in the rematch.
However, Edwards knocked Usman out with a thunderous head kick in the last minute of the rematch’s fifth and final round. Speaking to UFC commentator Joe Rogan on the JRE (Joe Rogan Experience) podcast, Usman has now suggested that while his knockout defeat was disappointing, getting taken down by Edwards in round one disappointed him even more.
Edwards notably became the first UFC fighter to officially secure a takedown against Usman. Besides, ‘Rocky’ threatened the then-top pound-for-pound UFC fighter with a rear-naked choke submission hold in round one.
Kamaru Usman survived and subsequently outpointed 'Rocky' in rounds two, three, and four. In fact, he was outworking Leon Edwards in round five as well until the KO. Revisiting the takedown sequence in round one, Usman stated:
“He hooked my legs. And this is my bad knee – well, my not-so-good knee – but both of them aren’t the greatest. So, I’m like, ‘Okay, let me hip him through.’ So, I tried to hip him through, but he just had great position. Kudos to him.”
“I get taken down. That I probably was more upset about. Giving up that takedown, I was like, ‘F**k!’ I gave up a takedown. So, we get down, and he tries, he takes the back, and I’m just chilling and waiting for the bell. And the bell goes off, and I get up.”
Watch Kamaru Usman discuss the topic at 4:40 in the video below:
Leon Edwards’ striking coach breaks down the iconic head kick KO of Kamaru Usman
UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards is likely to defend his belt in a trilogy matchup against Kamaru Usman next, potentially in early 2023. Ahead of their possible trilogy clash, Edwards’ striking coach Henry Cleminson touched upon his pupil’s iconic KO of Usman.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, Cleminson emphasized that the kick was something they strategized and drilled for. Noting that it was well-planned and not something that could’ve been successfully utilized without a proper set-up, Cleminson said:
"So, it was a technique that I thought was going to land later on with some of the work that he had done throughout the fight. Perhaps might have seen him throw caution to the wind a bit earlier on than he did. It certainly was something we were strategizing to sort of set up if you like."
Watch Cleminson’s assessment at 3:01 in the video below:
