As the dominant welterweight champion and pound-for-pound king ahead of UFC 278, people expected Kamaru Usman to defend his title against challenger Leon Edwards. But as we all know by now, the outcome was the exact opposite, with “Rocky” scoring a last-minute head kick KO to become the new undisputed title holder at 170 pounds.
Both Usman and UFC president Dana White are already looking forward to a potential trilogy. And if that happens, Usman’s fellow Dominance MMA fighter Islam Makhachev sees a different outcome.
“Edwards lucky because (Usman) beat him all five rounds. Like first round, he take him down, take his back, but other rounds, he beat him very easy. Take him down many time and smash him,” Makhachev told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto in a recent interview.
“When they gonna fight again, like rematch, 100 percent, I think Kamaru’s gonna beat him,” he continued. “Same problem. Edwards have same problem, always with wrestling guys.”
Makhachev has his own title fight to deal with as he’s currently slated to face former champion Charles Oliveira for the vacant 155-pound belt at UFC 280 in October.