LONDON – For the first time in four years, Kamaru Usman will enter a fight not as the UFC welterweight champion but as the challenger. Still, he spoke as though the belt still belongs to him during Wednesday’s UFC 286 media day.
Can you blame him?
Rest assured that Leon Edwards is the rightful 170-pound champ heading into Saturday’s trilogy bout at The O2 after he knocked out Usman in their rematch last August at UFC 278. But consider the circumstances: Usman (20-2 MMA, 15-1 UFC) was up on all three judges’ scorecards and cruising to his seventh consecutive title defense until – wham! – Edwards (20-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) landed a miracle head kick for the Knockout of the Year late in the fifth round.
