Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was as stunned as the rest of the MMA world when Leon Edwards knocked Kamaru Usman out cold at UFC 278. Khabib, who retired from the UFC as lightweight champion with a perfect 29-0 record, wonders whether “The Nigerian Nightmare” will be able to come back from such a devastating loss.
Kamaru Usman entered the Octagon as the world no.1 pound-for-pound fighter and the UFC’s welterweight champion. With under a minute to go in the final round, and Usman ahead on all judges’ scorecards, Leon Edwards delivered a thunderous head kick straight to Usman’s temple. The champ collapsed onto the canvas, eyes open, out cold.
Khabib Doubts Usman’s Ability to Bounce Back from Brutal KO
Khabib acknowledged that a trilogy fight for Edwards and Usman – now 1-1 against each other – is already in the works. “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. It will be interesting to see. But I would love to see the trilogy. They are 1-1.I watched UFC [278] and honestly, I was surprised. You could even say a little bit upset.
I have a good friendship with Kamaru and of course, it was hard to watch as the best fighter in the world, who he is right now, get knocked out severely with 50 seconds remaining in the bout.
I was thinking that this is essentially how the contest will finish just like he did to everyone else. But these fights are MMA and you can see by yourself, for 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. You can wake up in the locker room and it’s over.”
Kamaru Usman defended his welterweight title five times in thoroughly dominant fashion. It’s most likely that Edwards’ first title defense will be a rematch against Usman, assuming that Usman is cleared to compete within a suitable timeframe.
Some fighters, however, as Khabib acknowledged, never truly recover from that kind of loss. Usman’s fellow UFC 278 competitor, Luke Rockhold, lost his middleweight title thanks to a surprise knockout, too. Although Rockhold’s next fight was a victory, Rockhold was knocked out twice after that. Once a fighter’s chin goes, it’s gone forever.
Do you think Kamaru Usman will come back from this loss, or is the dream over for the Nigerian Nightmare? Let us know in the comments.
