Leon Edwards is the typical inspirational story of a fighter who comes from the trenches and eventually gets his chance to touch the sky. Last Saturday against all odds, he became the UFC Welterweight champion after beating Kamaru Usman in dramatic fashion. Usman had been dominating the first four rounds and the first four minutes of Round 5 as well.
But the UFC is arguably the most unpredictable sport in the world, anything can happen during a fight, even in the last second. In fact, Edwards nearly suffered a similar fate when he fought Nate Diaz back in June, 2021. He had been dominating throughout the entire fight, but Diaz clipped him with a head shot that made him almost go down. That head kick though, was no surprise for Leon and his team. In fact, there is footage that proves the opposite.
𝕀𝕗 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝔽𝕒𝕚𝕝 𝕋𝕠 ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝔸𝕣𝕖 ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕋𝕠 𝔽𝕒𝕚𝕝.@Leon_edwardsmma and Team Renegade MMA had it all planned out 🦵👀 pic.twitter.com/hOFHlDc0mI
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) August 24, 2022
Leon Edwards gets the head-kick ready for Usman
In some behind the scenes footage from Leon Edwards‘ camp, his coaches are getting him ready for when Kamaru Usman pivots to the right and gets his full face exposed. They had been getting ready for that moment that finally arrived with only one minute left on the clock. If that kick hadn’t landed, there is no doubt that Usman would’ve retined his belt and Leon Edwards hadn’t made history in the way he did.
Watching that kick over and over is like watching poetry in motion. All those hours spent training for that split moment in time were paid off by that kick that not even Leon Edwards could fathom at the moment. It took him a few seconds to realize what he had done, history in the Welterweight division.
https://www.instagram.com/p/ChindfrLYIL/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=bdc0e6ef-9454-4e68-92f2-d1119401aae6
Will Leon Edwards take the rematch immediately?
According to what Dana White said right after the event, the UFC is booked all the way through January, 2023. Although Kamaru Usman does need some months to recover from that kick, there is no chance these two will meet again inside an octagon in 2022. However, both of them expressed their desire to jump on it as soon as possible.
