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Michael Bisping believes Leon Edwards will pose a greater threat to Kamaru Usman compared to Colby Covington. Both Edwards and Covington have fought Usman in the past but neither succeeded in beating 'The Nigerian Nightmare'.
Edwards succumbed to a lopsided unanimous decision loss when he fought Usman back in 2015. The Englishman is set to reignite his rivalry with the reigning welterweight champ at UFC 278 in August.
Despite being unable to get the job done, Covington is probably the only fighter to have pushed Usman to the limit in both their fights at UFC 245 and UFC 268. According to Bisping, however, Edwards will be a bigger challenge for Usman to deal with in the rematch compared to Covington.
'The Count' explained that the former interim champ's striking didn't pose a serious threat to Usman because 'Chaos' is primarily a wrestler and not a dangerous striker. Edwards, on the other hand, is a prolific striker and has the ability to light Usman up on the feet.
In a BT Sport video, Bisping said:
"Colby Covington, great, but he's a wrestler, he can't strike and he's not as athletic as, or as fast, or as long, or has the reflexes and instincts that Leon Edwards has."
Watch the clip below:
Michael Bisping explains why Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards 2 will play out differently to first fight
Michael Bisping believes that the rematch between Usman and Edwards will be a lot different than their first fight, which took place when they were both relative newcomers.
Bisping expects this fight to be a much closer affair than their first fight. He feels there is no one in the welterweight division right now who could give Usman a tougher challenge than his fellow Englishman.
Hailing Usman as the best welterweight on the planet, Bisping also pointed out that over the years, Leon Edwards has shown signs of improvement in every single fight, stringing together an impressive run of wins inside the cage. He also claimed that Edwards is the most deserving to fight for the title, having taken the long parth to earn his shot.
Bisping said:
"He's gone out there and beaten every single person for the last 10 fights... 10 fights unbeaten and he looks like he's getting better with every single one because he's dialled in, he's focused on becoming the champion. It's early to make a prediction but I'm telling you right now, it's going to be a lot different to the first fight."
