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Michael Bisping recently gave his prediction for the upcoming welterweight title bout between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards at UFC 278.
'The Count' believes it is going to be one of the toughest tests for 'The Nigerian Nightmare'. In a live session on his YouTube channel, Michael Bisping said:
"I mean, Usman is the pound-for-pound number one, but Leon Edwards is probably going to give him the toughest fight he's had in a very long time."
Leon 'Rocky' Edwards has been rallying for a title shot for quite a while, stacking up consecutive wins on his way to the champion. However, the onset of the COVID-19 brought bad luck for the Brit, as he was confined to the UK due to travel restrictions.
Now that Edwards has finally gotten his shot at UFC 278, former middleweight champion Michael Bisping seems to be of the view that he possibly has what it takes to dethrone the pound-for-pound king.
"Of couse, I am rooting for Leon as a fellow Brit, and I think he's got a really, really good chance. It is not going to be easy."
Michael Bisping stresses the importance for Leon Edwards to be perfect against Kamaru Usman
In the same video on his YouTube channel, Bisping also discussed the welterweight title bout in detail.
He explained how Leon Edwards needs to avoid making mistakes that Kamaru Usman can capitalize on. Bisping said:
"Leon needs to be 100% focussed in his fight. Because one thing to be sure, if Kamaru Usman can catch Leon the way that Nate Diaz did, then, of course, he has the power to knock him out. He knocked out Masvidal, stopped Gilbert Burns, he has such a tremendous amount of power... So, Leon's going to have to be perfect."
'The Count' makes a fair point about Kamaru Usman's knockout power, which is something we have seen more of lately.
Four out of his last six fights ended in knockouts. A factor that has evidently played a large role in the massive improvement of his stand-up game is training under Trevor Wittman.
Training under Wittman has refined Usman's striking to an astonishing level. Despite being labelled as a "boring" fighter early on in his career due to his wrestling-heavy game, Usman has quickly picked up on efficient and powerful striking.
While striking remains Edwards' strong suit, Usman's already dominant wrestling combined with his now dangerous striking will prove to be a tough puzzle to solve.
As Bisping said, Edwards will have to make sure that he does not give the all-rounder champion any space to capitalize on any facet of the fight.
