UFC 286: O2 Arena; London, England
They say to be the man you must beat the man. But when you accomplish that in back-to-back fights, it’s quite the feet. Especially when you do it against a fighter like Kamaru Usman. The hype was getting to a high pitch on how high up the ladder of greats he is. However heading to this fight Leon Edwards obviously worked his tail off in camp. And with the majority decision win it shows that Leon Edwards gameplan works.
The head kick was the end goal, which didn’t flatline “The Nigerian Nightmare” this time. But the low and body kicks, the much improved takedown defense, and the clean striking, along with some knees kept the former champion at bay. And the gameplan from Coach Dave Lovell had to be on Usman’s mind. Sure up his defense, and keep things at range as much as possible. And if things do get clinched up… elbows and knees.
Now does the stamped successful new champion still have holes? Absolutely. And they can be exploited by the right opponent. He still allows himself to be walked down and the takedown defense doesn’t completely offset that. The high-paced trilogy with the 35-year old Usman comes down to one basic thing. Does applying lots of pressure and not damaging your opponent severely help you get a win.
Leon Edwards Gameplan Works… Will It Again
There’s probably some that look at “Rocky” as one of the weaker champions. However, that English in distance style of fighting works unless pressured by someone who can get inside. Colby Covington, who was there to weigh in as the backup fighter supplies some of the best pressure in all of MMA. And he made it known crystal clear that he wants that fight in July at INTERNATIONAL FIGHT WEEK. Although Edwards told DANIEL CORMIER post-fight he’d go to Miami next month to see the Masvidal-Burns fight.
Even with a win neither fighter is truly deserving of a shot just yet. That’s why it has to be “Chaos”. And even with Edwards clean striking he doesn’t specifically have the power to sting Covington. Even with his suspect chin.
Then again, Edwards is on a 12-fight unbeaten streak right now. So we will just have to wait and see if he keeps coming up aces, or is just a go-between two-solid champions. At least for his sake the welterweight division isn’t seeing an influx of talented hungry youth just yet.
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