Dana White scolds Chael Sonnen for suggesting Leon Edwards cheated in title fight with Kamaru Usman at UFC 278

Dana White is scolding Chael Sonnen for suggesting Leon Edwards cheated in the title fight with Kamaru Usman at UFC 278.

UFC 278 saw Usman (20-2 MMA) vs Edwards (20-3 MMA) in the welterweight main event on Saturday, August 20th at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The result was a stunning last-minute head kick from Edwards to Usman resulting in Leon Edwards capturing the welterweight title.

Chael Sonnen took to his YouTube channel accusing Edwards of repeatedly grabbing the cage when trying to fend off Usman’s takedowns, believing this impacted the fight resulting in the ultimate loss for the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’.

Sonnen explained:

“Leon cheated in that match a whole bunch of times. That is not a headline or a topic that is out there anywhere. … Leon was frustrated in positions and had no way out of positions to the extent that he cheated repeatedly. Not once – not an accident, not the ref didn’t see it. The ref saw it, the ref warned him, the ref saw it again, the ref stepped in, the ref broke the action five and six times.”

Continuing Sonnen said:

“Kamaru Usman is very likely to smother you and change you when he is on top of you. He is most likely to finish a fight from that position particularly when he has you pinned up against the fence. Kamaru did three times. Leon changed the position and got out of that three times by cheating.”

UFC President, Dana White is dismissing Sonnen’s theory that Edwards cheated during UFC 278.

In speaking with reporters, after Dana White’s Contender Series 52 on Tuesday, the UFC president addressed Sonnen’s comments (h/t MMAJunkie):

“He became champion with a head kick. He didn’t win by grabbing the fence. I mean, he got absolutely dominated in that whole fight except for that couple of minutes in the first round. He got absolutely dominated, and you know, that’s completely unfair of Chael Sonnen to say that. That kid sucked it up, dug down deep and landed literally the perfect head kick with like a minute left in the fight. So I would say that that’s silly, ridiculous and absolutely unfair to say about Leon.”

Whether you agree with Chael Sonnen or Dana White, a trilogy fight is in the works and that fight is sure to determine the definitive UFC welterweight champion.

Are you looking forward to Edwards vs Usman III?

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