Leon Edwards has suggested Kamaru Usman should retire and take up a career in fashion after their UFC title clash.
Edwards makes the first defence of his welterweight title against familiar foe Usman in the main event of UFC 286 at The O2 arena on Saturday night. 'Rocky' won the belt last August by knocking out Usman with just a minute left in their rematch after losing most of the fight. The Brit wouldn't be surprised if Usman, who was unbeaten in almost a decade heading into their rematch, retires from fighting if he loses in their trilogy fight.
"I think something is out of the door already and I'm going to add to that, just from his mentality and the way he's moving. Whether he retires after or not, that's up to him. I heard he flew a stylist over here, our mentalities are in two different places. I feel like he's on his way out and I'm going to open that door, give him another path to follow his fashion dreams and whatever he wants to do."
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Usman has insisted that Edwards was "dead on the inside" before landing the fight-ending blow in their rematch. The former champion was in cruise control for most of the fight after losing the first round, but Edwards has reminded the former champion that all that matters is how the fight ended.
"Going into the fight he thought he could never be taken down, hurt or knocked out," Edwards added of his rival ."I think he has find something to clutch onto, he was winning the fight by who cares. It goes down as him getting knocked out cold., that's all that matters when it's said and done. Even on my worse day and worse performance I still knocked him out, so winners win."
"I've always been confident in my ability, but our rematch has given me confidence in my ability that I can take him down. Once it hit the mat and I'm on top of him, he hasn't got much to offer defence-wise. I took his back quickly and there was no resistance, it's confirmation that I can use going into the third fight and I will."
Along with several other UFC fighters, Edwards has questioned whether Usman will be able to recover after suffering a devastating knockout. Bookies have Usman as a considerable favourite in the trilogy fight despite how the rematch played out and Edwards has insisted that he will be looking to stop the former champion yet again to put a decisive end to their rivalry.
