Leon Edwards has enjoyed an astonishing rise over the past three years, starting with a unanimous decision victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 263. After dominating much of the fight, Diaz caught Edwards with a hook in the final round, which left the Brit stumbling on his feet. Diaz remained patient – perhaps too patient – and his failure to capitalize saw Edwards make it to the final bell and emerge victorious, making him unbeaten in his last ten fights, earning him a title shot against the long-reigning welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman.
We all know what happened next. More late drama occurred in this one in favor of Edwards as despite being overwhelmingly down on the judge’s scorecards, he landed a head kick with less than a minute left of the contest, shocking the world as he knocked out ‘The Nigerian Nightmare,’ ending his three-and-a-half year reign. The rematch five months later in London, England, was a different story. This time, Edwards looked a lot more comfortable competing in front of his home crowd as opposed to the high altitude of Salt Lake City, and he defended his crown for the first time, winning a majority decision.
It is fair to say, then, that Kamaru Usman understands Leon Edwards’ strengths and weaknesses more than most, given that he has fought him three times over the past nine years (the first being a unanimous decision victory for Usman back in December 2015.) Usman spoke on ESPN during the build-up to Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez and gave his thoughts on the upcoming UFC 304 main event:
”This fight should have happened already. It’s been such a long time, but I’m glad that we’re finally able to get the fight. I like the confident wave that Leon is carrying now. I think he understands the responsibility of being a champion. A little thing that I would like to see from him is that ‘killer’ come out, because if you know that you are the top dog, you’ve got to prove it to each and every contender who wants your spot” – said Kamaru Usman.
Belal Muhammad’s recent record is not far off matching Edwards’ in terms of impressiveness. He has more than earned his shot at the belt following wins over Demian Maia, Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, Vicente Luque, Sean Brady and Gilbert Burns. Putting pressure on Leon for the duration of the fight is the key to victory for Muhammad; according to Din Thomas. Edwards is known for having an excellent stand-up game, so the challenger should look to utilize his exceptional wrestling to stifle the threat from the champion.
Leon Edwards Vs. Belal Muhammad, the main event at UFC 304, takes place on July 27 from the Co-op arena in Manchester, England, the first time the arena has held a combat sports event.
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