Khabib Nurmagomedov is doubtful that Kamaru Usman can recover from the vicious knockout he suffered at UFC 278.
This past Saturday, former UFC welterweight champion Usman took on Leon Edwards in the main event of the night. Usman had been a dominant champion going into the bout undefeated in the promotion and on the verge of equalizing MMA legend Anderson Silva‘s record for the longest win streak.
Edwards got off to a solid start in the opening round but could not carry the same momentum in any of the following rounds of the bout. Although Usman was on his way to another record-breaking win on the judges’ scorecards, a kick to the head from Edwards with just 56 seconds left on the clock would dethrone him.
The kick heard 'round the world
[ @Leon_EdwardsMMA | #UFC278 ] pic.twitter.com/GfmX7pBnj6
— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2022
Khabib Nurmagomedov wonders if Kamaru Usman can recover from the KO loss at UFC 278
UFC president Dana White indicated a trilogy outing between the pair would be next. Usman was inches away from etching his name into the history books and a title rematch with Edwards would give him the chance to avenge his greatest defeat.
Having been knocked out for the first time in his pro career, and that too with a vicious head kick that had him out cold on the canvas, there is a lot Usman would need to overcome both mentally and physically.
Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov believes that such a hard loss can change the trajectory of any fighter’s career. Following the UFC 278 headliner, Khabib shared his thoughts on one of the biggest upsets in the sport:
“(In) a second, it all went wrong, put his hand in the wrong place; your lights could go out if the proper defense is not in place,” Khabib said. “You can wake up in the locker room and it’s over.”
While Khabib does see Usman beating Edwards, he wants to see how “The Nigerian Nightmare” would handle the low moment.
“I’m aware that the trilogy is already in the works. I believe he can beat Leon Edwards. But after such a knockout, a lot of people don’t recover,” Khabib noted. “It will be interesting to see. But I would love to see the trilogy. They are 1-1.” (h/t Mr. MMA Shorts).
UFC coior commentator, Joe Rogan has christened UFC 278 headliner, Leon Edwards’ breathtaking fifth round rallying high kick KO of welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman as the greatest in the sport’s history – as the former clinches Octagon gold from the jaws of defeat. Edwards, who headlined UFC 278 last weekend in an undisputed welterweight title […]