Leon Edwards believes now is the perfect time to fight Kamaru Usman because ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’s’ body is starting to break down from all the wars he’s been in.
Edwards will look to become the first man to defeat Usman in the UFC when he challenges the pound-for-pound king for the welterweight championship later this month at UFC 278.
‘Rocky’ previously lost to Usman at UFC on FOX 17 back when both men were starting their UFC careers in 2015, with Usman winning a unanimous decision.
However, Edwards has improved ‘leaps and bounds’ since then while Usman may have deteriorated due to his championship wars with Colby Covington (twice) and Gilbert Burns.
“All I’ve been doing is training,” Edwards, who is on a nine-fight win streak, told CBS Sports in a recent interview. “The Khamzat Chimaev fight, for example, that’s three camps. I’ve done many camps and improved leaps and bounds. Now is the perfect time to fight. I think those years looking back on it now were blessings in disguise. It gave me time to hone my skills and polish what I needed to polish. [Usman’s] competed but he’s also been in wars. His body is breaking down and I think now is the perfect time.”
UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2 takes place next Saturday, Aug. 20 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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