Kamaru Usman is ‘more human than he thought’ after a stunning knockout loss to Leon Edwards and the British star should find ‘more moments’ to deliver another destructive victory, says MMA expert Mark Weir.
Edwards defends his UFC welterweight title against Usman in a trilogy clash at UFC 286 in London on Saturday night after he sensationally stopped the Nigerian with a head kick in their August rematch.
Edwards was beaten by unanimous decision in their first fight in December 2015, but Weir believes the 31-year-old coped much better with the physicality of Usman in their second bout.
“I think Leon’s confidence will grow as a result of his grappling work on the ground,” said Weir.
“Everybody believes in Usman’s ground-and-pound, but Usman’s probably realising that he is a bit more human than he thought.
“Although Usman came back stronger in each round, he realised he can be taken down and he can be controlled.”
Leroy was equally impressed with Edwards’ much improved ground game, but insists Usman remains a threat if he can cope with a hostile atmosphere in London.
“Leon’s going to be very confident that he can be successful with his wrestling and grappling,” he said.”Now that he’s on home soil, I think it’s going tobe a completely different fight.
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I’ve personally trained in Albuquerque where we’re training 5,500 feet above elevation. On the first day of training, I felt like I was struggling for air, it took me almost three weeks to adjust to that.
“I think Leon was there for one week, maybe two? Not long enough to adjust, it’s a different kind of feeling. So, he must have been in his own thoughts – and it must have snapped him into reality when his corner was telling him off”.
Weir was surprised by the strong-worded approach from Edwards’ coaches.
“For me, if someone’s tired, it’s important for me to allow them to relax, and get them to calm down. You don’t want them to hyperventilate because the more the heart beats, the more tired they get.
“You want to talk to them calmly but sternly, and tell them what they need to do, shouting can make them more worried. Maybe it worked, but I’m not sure if it was the right way or wrong way, I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody!”
