Kamaru Usman is set to take on Colby Covington in two weeks at UFC 268. The title fight was divided between either Covington or Leon Edwards.
Colby Covington eventually won out. Kamaru Usman knows exactly why Leon Edwards didn't get the next crack at the title.
“That was an audition… You audition for me, then I decide if it’s you or that guy,” Kamaru Usman said to Daniel Cormier (via Sportskeeda). “Myself and the promotion we’ll sit down and we’ll say, ‘I like this audition tape. Let’s go ahead and pick him next.’ And he went out there and he was auditioning and for a while he did okay. But then, all of a sudden, the 25th minute, you shit the bed. You can’t do that.”
Kamaru Usman is referring to Leon Edwards' fight against Nate Diaz at UFC 263. The Englishman dominated the fight for the entirety of the match up until the final minute where Diaz rocked him with a big punch.
That moment saw many people forget the whole fight and heavily criticize Leon Edwards. Even Kamaru Usman saw that as a reason not to give him a title shot.
“Someone has to keep it real with this guy. At the end of the day we know – let’s be honest here – we know this is a business. This is a partnership between us and the promotion,” Usman added. “In a partnership, you got to give them something to work with. You gotta give them something to sell. And they have thrown you bone after bone after bone. Let’s just be honest, based on that last performance, you can’t go out there and do that with Nate Diaz. You can’t do that.”
It's an interesting opinion from Kamaru Usman and one that many fans share. There will be no doubt Leon Edwards gets the next title shot with a win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 269.
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