Leon Edwards has said his welterweight title win against Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 might have been one of his ‘worst performances’.
Edwards was down on the scorecards before dethroning Usman, who had outpointed him in 2015, with a stunning head kick with just one minute left in the main event.
Edwards, who became Britain’s second ever UFC champion with the victory, had taken down Usman in the first round – something no fighter had managed to do to the Nigerian-American in the UFC. The 30-year-old was then outgrappled by Usman for much of the fight, however, and a decision loss looked likely for Edwards until he secured a stunning finish.
Having watched Luke Rockhold and Jose Aldo tire in the evening’s two previous fights on Saturday, Edwards told The MMA Hour on Monday: “In the back of my mind I thought, ‘Why is everyone getting tired?’
“I was watching it thinking, ‘I won’t get tired, because I’ve been here for two weeks, I slept in altitude at home – I probably won’t feel it.’
“When we went out there, after the first round... I can’t explain it, my body just shut down. It was just a weird feeling. It wasn’t cardio, it was like my body just wasn’t reacting. In my head I could think what I wanted to do, but my body just wasn’t doing it.”
Former champions Rockhold and Aldo both suffered decision defeats over three rounds, and Edwards was on course for the same result over five.
“Even when I was fighting, I was looking ahead like: ‘Man, what the hell is going on?’” Edwards continued. “‘Just keep pushing. I know he’s crafty and the body is feeling it, but just keep working and stay focused. It’s never over until it’s over.’ I stayed in there and got the clean head kick KO.
“But I was getting worried, for sure – 100 per cent. The moment was so big for me, and it’s just my luck for that to happen. I thought, ‘Man, there’s no way this can happen, that it can play out like this.’ I said it all week, I feel like this is my moment. God brought me to this point to make this happen. That’s what kept playing in my head: ‘There’s no way God brought me here for this just to go to decision and finish like this.
“That’s one of my worst performances ever in my career. To have my worst performance in the biggest moment of my life, it’s hard to explain how you feel mentally. It’s like, what the f***? Come on, how is this playing out like this? It was difficult to go through, but it is what it is. That was Usman’s best performance, that was my worst performance, and he still couldn’t finish me. I finished him on my worst day.”
