Kamaru Usman was one of the only men that came close to Anderson Silva’s 16 consecutive wins in the UFC. However he suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of Leon Edwards during UFC 278. This loss has raised concerns among fans and UFC stars, including Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov still had some faith in Usman after that iconic kick KO, “I believe he can beat Leon Edwards, but after such a knockout, a lot of people don’t recover. It will be interesting to see, they are one and one now.”
Usman is managed by Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz but that didn’t stop Nurmagomedov from delivering some hard truths. Khabib went on to say that there’s only one peak in MMA, and that Usman has already lived through it.
Khabib told media: “It was tough but what can you do, (Usman)’s 37 years old,”
“When you are 37, or 38 competing at the highest level, like I have always said, there is no second peak.”
“He peaked in 2014, 2015, 2016 and then from there on he went down whether he wants it or not.”
“Exact same thing with (Jose) Aldo.”
Later he added:
“These fights show who the true top fighters are. Sure fighters like Aldo and Rockhold can still win most fights. But if you compare them with someone like Merab. He has 8 wins in a row. He’s not a ‘walk-through” fighter”
Leon Edwards solidified himself as the Welterweight champion this weekend at UFC 286. While the brass wants him to face Covington, he appears reluctant and would rather face winner of Masvidal Burns. Edwards is 31 years old.