Khabib Nurmagomedov has expressed his fears for Kamaru Usman after his brutal knockout loss to Leon Edwards at UFC 278.
Usman, 35, was cruising to a decision win against Edwards in his sixth welterweight defence on Saturday night. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' came on strong after losing the first round and was ahead on the judges scorecards heading into the fifth stanza. But with less than one minute to go in the fight, Edwards delivered a head kick which knocked Usman out cold as he suffered the first defeat of his UFC career.
The former champion will likely face a lengthy medical suspension for the nature of his loss and although, Nurmagomedov is confident Usman can avenge his loss to Edwards in a potential trilogy fight, he admits such defeats can affect fighters. "I believe he can beat Leon Edwards, but after such a knockout a lot of people don't recover. It will be interesting to see, they are one and one now," he told reporters.
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"Honestly, I was surprised you could even say a little bit upset because I have a good friendship with Kamaru. Of course it was hard to watch the best fighter in the world, which he is right now, get knocked out severely with 50 seconds remaining in the fight. For a second it all went wrong, [Kamaru] put his hand in the wrong place. Your lights can go out if the proper defence is not in place. You can wake up in the locker room and it's over."
Usman and Nurmagomedov both share the same manager in Dominance MMA boss Ali Abdelaziz. Usman recently heaped praise on Nurmagomedov after the now-retired UFC legend was inducted into the promotion's Hall of Fame, also speaking highly of the Russian's transition from a fighter to a coach.
Usman is expected to be granted a trilogy fight against Edwards once he recovers from his knockout loss and is able to compete again. The former champion updated fans on his health after the fight, tweeting out: "Champs f*** up sometimes… but we bounce back and come with vengeance. I am ok, just got caught in the right spot. These things happen. We will learn from them and do what greatness requires."
