According to Dan Hardy, if Leon Edwards is not careful, Kamaru Usman might defeat the Englishman by knockout at UFC 278.
‘The Outlaw’ stated on The MMA Hour that Usman had many issues following their 2015 fight because of Edwards. Regarding the grappling portion of the battle, “Rocky” was also fairly competitive.
“I give him a good chance. He caused all kinds of issues for Usman the last fight. He didn’t take any damage. He was able to be competitive enough with his takedown defense to slow the fight right down.”
But since then, “The Nigerian Nightmare” has significantly improved his striking, earning knockout victories over Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal.
According to Hardy, Usman will be hoping for another knockout, especially after seeing Nate Diaz damage Leon Edwards at UFC 263.
“I think the difference in this one is Usman’s confidence in striking is in a different place entirely. You look at what he did to Masvidal and Glbert Burns, you think to yourself, he could quite easily do the same thing to Leon. Especially after we saw Nate hurt him. That’s the thing that would stick out on my mind.”
View Dan Hardy’s discussion of Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards here:
Leon Edwards will be Kamaru Usman’s opponent as he attempts to defend his welterweight belt for the sixth time
With a convincing victory over Tyron Woodley at UFC 235, Kamaru Usman claimed the title. At UFC 245, he defeated Colby Covington in the fifth round through technical knockout in his first championship defence.
Following a decision win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251, Usman defeated Gilbert Burns in his third championship defence at UFC 258 in February of last year.
At UFC 261, “The Nigerian Nightmare” defeated Jorge Masvidal in their rematch via savage knockout. In his rematch with Colby Covington at UFC 268, he successfully defended the title for the fifth time.
At UFC 278, Usman will face Leon Edwards in yet another rematch. He can strengthen his case for being the best welterweight of all time with a victory.
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