Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman had their final face-off in an explosive fashion. The two picked up the intensity from where they left off in their previous bout, where Leon snatched the welterweight championship from Kamaru. Fans had been eagerly waiting for the final episode of this trilogy. And the two have already started delivering with an intense face-off.
Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards have mutual respect. However, when it comes to battling it out in the octagon, these two are sheer professionals.
The history between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman
The history between them dates back to 2015. Kamaru, fresh off the boat of the TUF victory, burgeoned into the UFC octagon. Kamaru dominated that fight and won on a unanimous decision.
The tides turned on their second meeting. Both had a winning streak going on. While Leon was enjoying a 9-win streak, Kamaru was on the verge of equalling Anderson Silva’s record of 16 consecutive wins. Most had their stakes on “The Nigerian Nightmare.”
However, Leon has a habit of causing upsets. He made the world notice by dint of his sheer perseverance. And that came into fruition when he replicated the electrifying head kick that he had been practicing for days, prior to the title fight. Leon knocked Kamaru out when he had only a few seconds left on the clock in the fifth round.
Kamaru was ahead on the scoring sheet up until that point. But such is the story of Leon, defying all odds. Ending Kamaru’s 15-game win streak, Leon cinched his covered welterweight belt around his waist.
What happened between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman in the final stand-off prior to UFC 286
For this very reason, Leon has been touted as ‘Rocky’. As the character brought to the screen by Sylvester Stallone, Leon had always been a dark horse, never quite the front-runner. Despite all odds, he kept on with it, and he reaped the rewards after a long time. Fans were excited for their homeboy prior to UFC 286 main card as they chanted ‘Rocky.’
The two tried to startle each other and establish dominance early on. Winning the mental game in the face-off is quite often crucial in these title fights. However, the fans saw a rather amiable face-off the last time. But with high stakes this time, the two were pretty heated. With glaring staredowns, the welterweight warriors exchanged words as well.
Therefore, fans can expect a worthy clash at the O2 arena. Kamaru has hardly had to deal with losses in his career. It remains to be seen whether he rises from the ashes like a phoenix or ‘Rocky’ keeps conquering the octagon.
