Francis Ngannou Reveals Why Kamaru Usman Didn’t Train Properly for Leon Edwards Fight

‘The Predator’ shared that ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ was compromised in preparing for his latest outing against ‘Rocky’ due to an undisclosed injury

Francis Ngannou, Kamaru Usman, Leon Edwards
Credit: Francis Ngannou, Leon Edwards (via Instagram)

Francis Ngannou revealed Kamaru Usman was not able to prepare properly for his fight with Leon Edwards due to an injury.

This past weekend, former champ and pound-for-pound king Usman faced reigning UFC welterweight champion Edwards for a third time in the headlining bout of UFC 286 in London, England. Usman went into the contest looking to reclaim the title but couldn’t do enough to get the nod from the judges. Edwards added a successful title defense under his belt and went 2-1 over Usman after winning the rubber match.

Francis Ngannou reveals why Kamaru Usman didn’t train properly for the Leon Edwards fight

In a recent video posted on his YouTube channel, Francis Ngannou shared his reaction to Usman’s loss and revealed why Usman was not able to train properly for the match.

“I know that he didn’t train,” said Ngannou. “He didn’t have to train properly because of a lot of injury, but he was there.”

Ngannou praised Usman for overcoming the mental hurdle of having been knocked out and found it to be the silver lining.

“There’s one thing I’m happy about. Usually when people get knocked out, they don’t come back in the fight, they’ll be like wobbly. He was there. He fought tonight which is a lot of step back,” he added.

Ngannou backed Usman to reclaim the title

‘The Predator’ is confident Usman will make his way back to another title shot and eventually become a champion again.

“He was there. It’s a victory, an unfortunate victory, but I think now he’s mentally healthier than what he was before. Yeah, let’s see what’s next. I believe he’s going to get it back. I believe it.”

There was a lot of speculation about whether ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ would step away from professional competition if he lost. Usman dispelled the rumors of retirement and declared a comeback in the post-fight octagon interview. Although the pair traded verbal jabs and had plenty of heated moments, things remained largely respectful between the two even after the outcome.

Edwards got linked to taking on Colby Covington next as per company president Dana White but an official announcement is yet to follow.

Published on March 21, 2023 at 6:41 pm
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