Leon Edwards believes Kamaru Usman has let money go to his head.
Edwards challenges for the welterweight title for the first time when he faces Usman in a rematch in the UFC 278 headliner taking place this weekend at Salt Lake City, Utah.
The pair already had a pre-fight press conference and while it was mostly respectful, there were some friendly back-and-forth jabs exchanged between the pair.
Usman was notably wearing a jacket with no t-shirt on, and has been no stranger to face-offs with no shirt on.
Edwards poked fun at Usman for that in a recent interview and also believes it’s a sign of Usman changing, considering he never did that before.
“You know Terry Crews from White Chicks? He looks like that guy from White Chicks,” Leon Edwards told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “He’s changed. Never got a t-shirt on. I don’t know what’s going on. The money’s gotten to his head.”
Leon Edwards Wants No Excuses
Could the money going to Usman’s head along with “The Nigerian Nightmare” having lots of wear and tear on his body point towards an inevitable first UFC loss?
“Rocky” is certainly hoping to deliver that first defeat, but is hoping to do so while Usman is at the peak of his powers.
In the end, he wants no excuses when he comes out on top.
“I don’t want that to be the excuse. I want everyone to claim he’s the number one pound-for-pound,” Edwards added. “That’s what I want in the cage when I compete. When I lost, I didn’t make excuses. He beat me, he got the decision over me, and that’s it. I moved on. I got better, improved myself and now, here we are again.
“I don’t want excuses. … I want Kamaru Usman now.”
You can watch the full interview below:
