Leon Edwards out to stamp some extent in Kamaru Usman trilogy: ‘I genuinely must reward these motherf******’

Leon Edwards is feeling assured sooner than his trilogy bout with Kamaru Usman.

At UFC 278, Edwards pulled off even handed one of the indispensable excellent comebacks in MMA historical past, knocking out Usman with a final-minute head kick to claim the welterweight title. With Usman a success their initial strive in opposition to back in 2015, that assign up the trilogy bout, which is ready to headline UFC 286 in March. And with the system issues went final time, Edwards believes followers can be listening to “And peaceful!” draw strive in opposition to evening.

“I do know he’s excellent. I’m not deluded. I do know he’s a first rate fighter, but I genuinely deem that I’m greater,” Edwards mentioned on The MMA Hour. “I’m taking the confidence from colorful I’m in a position to engage him down, colorful when it hits the mat and I’m on high, I’m system greater, colorful I’m in a position to knock him out. I’m in a position to engage the final added confidence that I had anyway into the following strive in opposition to.”

Oddsmakers disagree with Edwards, with Usman right now establish in as a -245 favourite, implying a 71 percent take hang of likelihood. However “Rocky” notes he has a lot of benefits coming into the trilogy bout. For one, UFC 286 takes web suppose in London, giving him the rating web suppose of birth revenue. Furthermore, along with the confidence he won from the knockout, there’s a ask if that knockout loss, the first of Usman’s profession, will swap him.

“It’s an hour a ways from my home,” Edwards mentioned. “I don’t must hurry. It’s a straightforward force. I’m in a position to head down on a Tuesday. I don’t must leave two, three weeks early. I’m in a position to genuinely make my camp in Birmingham and sprint to London with my crew.

“As a ways as the knockout goes, let’s perceive how he reacts. I’m not genuinely banking on him being gun-terrified. I’m occurring the market to prepare for the Usman there might be. We’ll perceive. I’ve mentioned it time and time again, that devastating knockout does swap warring parties. I’ve considered it in boxing, I’ve considered it in mixed martial arts, let’s perceive how he reacts when I initiating sinking them pictures in direction of his head. It’s going to be excellent.

“One more point, I’ve by no system lost in the U.K., amateur or expert. I’ve by no system lost a strive in opposition to in the U.K. For Usman to shrink back to the U.K., my headline reward, in London, for the belt, I factual can’t perceive how he gets it performed. I’m furious for it. I’m in a position to’t wait.”

Plus, there’s the matter of altitude. UFC 278 took web suppose in Salt Lake City, where the altitude dramatically affected a series of fights on the card, at the side of, Edwards says, theirs. The welterweight champion maintains that Usman’s success in the rematch, sooner than getting knocked out, changed into in allotment attributable to the high altitude playing havoc with him.

“That changed into about 40 percent, 50 percent of what I’m,” Edwards mentioned. “He changed into magnificent, but I remember thinking in my head, ‘This guy isn’t even that excellent!’ My body factual wasn’t working for some goal. At the same time as he changed into hitting me, wailing on my guard, in my head I’m thinking, ‘This motherf***** isn’t that excellent.’ I factual couldn’t to find my body to work. It wasn’t working for some goal. I could presumably perhaps perhaps mediate in my head what I needed to enact, but my body wasn’t reacting.

“It changed into a unfamiliar feeling that I’ve by no system felt sooner than. If he approaches like that, it’s going to be a depraved evening for him. However I’m ready for the most efficient Usman there might be. It’s been a prolonged boulevard to to find to this web suppose, I’m in a position to’t to find right here and then give it away like that. I genuinely must reward these motherf******. It’s going to be excellent.”

UFC 286 takes web suppose on March 18 at the O2 Arena in London.