By Lourence Alturino
Image from ESPN.com
The trilogy fight between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman goes down in London. The second fight ended with the greatest knockout of all time, Edwards landing a head kick from the heavens to put Usman to sleep. This is a homecoming for London's very own, Leon Edwards. The Nigerian Nightmare is coming back to take back his championship. Who finishes out the trilogy as the UFC Welterweight Champion?
Leon "Rocky" Edwards (20-3, 1 NC)
"Pound for Pound, head shot dead." The now reigning 170 champion after shocking the entire world back in August of last year. Edwards is now fighting in his home country, so he does have that home crowd advantage. Also, this fight is not at a high altitude unlike the second bout, which was said to be a major reason as to why Leon was losing most of that fight. Now that the cards seem to be in Leon's favor, can he repeat what transpired in that second fight? Edwards is such a dangerous striker and we now know that he can knockout Usman. We also know that he can take Usman down to the ground, but can he stop Usman's takedowns this time around? Will "Rocky" get his second Rocky moment and successfully defend his title for the first time?
Keys for Edwards
- Defend takedown
- Keep fight in center of the cage
- Utilize the clinch to land elbows and knees
- Use kicks
Kamaru "Nigerian Nightmare" Usman (20-2)
The former champ is entering enemy territory to reclaim his status as the welterweight king. Coming back from a knockout like that, you can't help but wonder how much this will affect Kamaru Usman's performance in this fight? Will he be gunshy and hesitant to throw or will he be even hungrier and fight harder this time around? One thing is for certain and that is that Usman is coming to wrestle. Usman won the first fight and was winning majority of the second due to his dominant wrestling prowess, so it's clear this aspect of the game plan is not changing. Can the Nigerian Nightmare regain his championship and get back on top of the 170 division?
Keys for Usman
- Take fight to ground
- Push Edwards backwards
- Look to take the back of Edwards
- Don't get too comfortable
Breakdown
This fight all depends on Usman, he's the dictator of pace here. Usman should definitely still be looking to cut off the cage and keep Edwards against the fence, to then shoot for a takedown. The pressure has to be turned up from the first bell to the last. If not, Edwards will take advantage. Kamaru should be looking to take Leon's back more often in this fight and even go for a submission, which is something he does not do much.
If Usman ends up in the middle of the cage, Edwards has the capabilities to shut his lights out. Leon utilizing the clinch more in this fight could be a way to neutralize Kamaru's high pace, essentially holding him to hopefully land elbows and knees, slowing Kamaru down.
Final Prediction
While I do believe Edwards has the weapons on the feet to do it again, this is Usman's fight to lose once again. The wrestling of Usman is just again going to be too much for Leon to handle. I'm expecting a hungrier and more dangerous version of Usman to ensure that he gets back his title. Kamaru Usman completes the trilogy with a decision victory.
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