Leon Edwards questions Kamaru Usman’s “weird” reaction to KO loss at UFC 278: “I just don’t believe it”

By Josh Evanoff - September 8, 2022

UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards has questioned Kamaru Usman‘s recent comments.

Leon Edwards, Kamaru Usman, UFC 278

‘Rocky’ faced ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ in the main event of UFC 278 last month. The bout was a rematch of their previous encounter at UFC on Fox 17 in December 2015. In that first meeting, Usman scored a unanimous decision victory.

However, the Brit flipped the script in the rematch in Salt Lake City. Down on the scorecards heading into round five, Edwards finished Usman with a head kick. With the knockout blow, he became the welterweight titleholder and ended the champion’s lengthy reign.

Since that knockout loss, Kamaru Usman has been open about how he feels. The former welterweight champion has been far more jovial than expected. Usman has stated that he feels relief about the defeat, especially given the pressure on his shoulders before the loss.

Now, Leon Edwards has given his thoughts on the former champion’s reaction. During an interview with Ariel Helwani, the Brit labeled Usman’s response as “weird”, given his previous behavior.

Furthermore, he opined that the former champion might be exaggerating his thoughts on the loss. Beyond Usman, the newly crowned champion also stated that he hopes he’s never happy about losing.

Kamaru Usman, Leon Edwards

“It’s weird, right? Because, to go from that cocky guy to now, ‘I’m happy to get knocked out and it’s a relief’, I just don’t believe it,” Edwards said. “For me, I hope, like I said, I never get to a stage where I [lose and] I’m happy for a loss, you know. It’s weird. The way he’s handling it is the only way he could handle it, right? He couldn’t come out and be like salty… So, we’ll see… It is weird… I feel like he’s overdoing it.” (h/t MMA News)

What do you think about Leon Edward’s comments? Do you want to see him fight Kamaru Usman again? Sound off in the comment section below!


Topics:

Kamaru Usman Leon Edwards UFC UFC 278