Nigerian Kamaru Usman, after his defeat to Leon Edwards in Sunday’s rematch at UFC 278, has vowed to return better than envisaged.
Usman, in the contest against Edwards for the welterweight title, was knocked out with a powerful head-kick to lay out cold.
The fighter was immediately rushed to the hospital following precautionary measures which thwarted any room for a post-match interview.
However, Usman, who later in a tweet, admitted that champions are also fallible, said he was going to return better than before.
“Champions f$ck up sometimes,” Usman tweeted.
“But we bounce back and come with vengeance!
“Damn I love this sport!!! Things happen but… Alhamdulillah, we move!! Congratulations Leon Edwards,” he said.
Meanwhile, UFC chief Dana White explained that he is reviewing the option of choosing Wembley Stadium as the venue for the third contest between the fighters.
“How do you not do it?’ Wembley… yeah,” he noted
White said from the commentary, he thought Usman had the day until Edward landed a head-kick.
“I thought that Usman fought the perfect fight. It’s crazy, I was listening to the commentary of Joe Rogan, Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier, and they were spot on in everything they were saying about what Leon needed to do,” he continued.
“And as soon as they were saying it, he literally lands the head-kick.
“Usman fought with absolute and total confidence all night. He fought the perfect fight, it might not be the most fan-friendly style but…he was landing big shots to the body, big shots to the head, elbows – he couldn’t have fought a more perfect fight.
“There are no lopsided, one-sided, fights in this sport. The problem with this fight was that people wouldn’t give Leon enough credit. He’s a very dangerous opponent,” White added.
Nevertheless, the Nigerian who was ahead of the judges’ scorecards in the final round, was knocked out with less than a minute to go.
Following the loss to Edward, having won the first match, a trilogy was activated on the cards which would see both fighters meet soon for the third match.
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