"He's not talking about it" - Chael Sonnen questions if Kamaru Usman is focused enough ahead of "hardest fight ever" against Leon Edwards at UFC 278
Kamaru Usman is set to defend his welterweight title against Leon Edwards at UFC 278. The fight is just over a month away, but 'The Nigerian Nightmare' hasn't spent too much time talking about Edwards. Instead, he's been making headlines for discussing a potential move up to light heavyweight.
That has Chael Sonnen somewhat perplexed. In a new episode of his You're Welcome! podcast, Sonnen said:
"There is some reason to believe, particularly coming off a hand injury, Leon having the experience of having been in there with Usman once before, this could be his hardest fight ever. He's not talking about it. What do we make of that?"
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"Kamaru Usman has focused his attention in eight different areas since he's fought Leon. Leon has focused on one thing for five years, which is a rematch against the last guy that beat him. And by the way, it happens to be for the strap this time. Kamaru's not talking about him. Is Kamaru fully focused on him?"
Listen to Chael Sonnen discuss Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards below:
Sonnen went on to admit that what Usman said in interviews doesn't necessarily reflect on how he's preparing in the gym. However, even just pushing various non-Edwards related narratives in the media is a distraction from Usman's key objective, which is to beat Leon Edwards and hold onto his welterweight belt.
Kamaru Usman teases a move up to light heavyweight for a second title
Kamaru Usman has established himself as a dominant champion at 170 lbs, to the point where he's looking at bigger challenges to establish a lasting legacy. One of those challenges is a move up two weightclasses to challenge for the light heavyweight belt.
In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Usman said:
โAfter Leon Edwards, we have our sights set on [light heavyweight], whether itโs Jan or whether itโs Jiลรญ, whoever it is, thatโs what we want... I want to prove to the world that thereโs a reason why they say pound-for-pound. That means pound-for-pound at any given time, any given moment, any given weight, I can go in there and not only hold my own, I can be victorious. I wanna be able to prove that.โ
Watch 'The Nigerian Nightmare' discuss a move up to 205 pounds below:
Most fighters have enough of a challenge jumping up a single weight class, but Usman sounds uninterested in trying to take the middleweight title. That may be because it's currently held by Israel Adesanya, one of the other African champions dubbed the 'Three Kings.'
The three fearsome African Lions of the UFC๐๐...
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