Change in altitude could considerably improve Leon Edwards' performance against Kamaru Usman from last time, says Dan Hardy
Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman will headline UFC 286 at the O2 Arena in London on March 18. The two welterweights will meet for the third time in their careers and this will be their second straight title match.
Edwards' first title defense will be in front of his home crowd in England and in favorable conditions that he is used to compared to his last fight. UFC 278 was held in Salt Lake City, Utah, at an altitude of 4327 feet, which possibly affected 'Rocky's' performance.
Former UFC welterweight Dan Hardy spoke about the various problems altitude poses to fighters on his podcast, The War Room:
“So I mentioned it briefly, about the altitude. Altitude’s a weird thing. I’ve heard everybody experience, like, wild hallucinations to just feeling completely suffocated or like the feeling they’re underwater. It can be a real unusual thing to experience. And this is why a lot of fighters go to altitude to train. Usman’s gone to train with Trevor Wittman in Colorado, 6800 feet above sea level. Anywhere around there and you can have some really positive effect.”
Hardy then highlighted the visible fatigue Leon Edwards went through during the UFC 278 main event:
"So there’s still an altitude to Salt Lake, you’ll feel that tightness in your chest and shortness of breath, it’s like how you feel like you’ve not done the conditioning you should have done. So I do feel like that was a factor, especially given the fact that Leon just looked like he went flat. And he tried to get himself going.”
Check out Hardy's full comments on YouTube below (12:46-14:27):
Alexander Volkanovski believes Leon Edwards will be more confident, mentions altitude difference compared to last title match
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski also previewed the welterweight championship match at UFC 286 on Fox Sports Australia.
'The Great' favored Leon Edwards to do better than his last fight against Kamaru Usman and made mention of his solid first round at UFC 278. He also spoke about 'Rocky' struggling with the altitude.
Volkanovski backed Leon Edwards to have an equal chance in the title rematch and said:
“But I still remember that first round, you know, the altitude. They were talking about fighting at a higher altitude, he was saying it was tiring him out. Cause his confidence is gonna be through the roof, knowing that he had a good first round. Remember, he took Usman down. Had a good first round and he still got the KO when he thought he was tired. So I feel like, I’m almost 50-50 on this one. I think Leon can definitely get the job done.”
Check out Volkanovski's comments on YouTube below (0:02-0:59):