"That was just super impressive" - Sean O'Malley speculates how Leon Edwards mustered the strength for 'headshot' KO despite appearing 'gassed' at UFC 278
Sean O'Malley recently shared his take on Leon Edwards' championship win against Kamaru Usman at UFC 278.
At the recently concluded UFC event, Leon Edwards showcased one of the most impressive victories in recent memory during his rematch against Kamaru Usman.
The Brit was able to successfully snatch the welterweight belt from 'The Nigerian Nightmare', who had defended it for quite almost three years until now.
Most were expecting a decision win for Usman. However, 'Rocky' surprised everyone with an impressive head kick as he sent the former champ to sleep in the last minute of the fifth round.
LEON EDWARDS JUST KNOCKED OUT KAMARU USMAN TO WIN THE BELT IN THE FINAL ROUND #UFC278 twitter.com/shannonsharpee…
Bantamweight contender Sean O'Malley recently took to his YouTube channel to share his take on Edwards' last-minute KO win.
The fighter, according to 'Sugar,' maintained his calm and composure throughout the entire fight. He conserved enough energy to land a strong headkick just before the fifth round came to a close, as O'Malley said:
"I think it was just Leon being in tha good shape, that prepared for that fight... And he's you know... everytime he's in those scrambles, he was like staying calm. It didn't look like he was like exerting too much energy... yeah, so that was super impressive. "
Further, the Bantamweight contender also praised Leon Edwards for successfully being able to defeat the former pound-for-pound king:
"[Leon] that was epic... one of the most legendary comebacks of all times, especially because Kamaru was the pound-for-pound best in the world. Yeah, that's what makes that so crazy. If it would have been any other champion, it would have been crazy... but the fact that [Kamaru] was the pound for pound, breaking records."
Check out Sean O'Malley discuss Leon Edwards in the video below:
Leon Edwards' striking coach details strategy behind the impressive last minute headkick
Henry Cleminson, Rocky's striking instructor, recently spoke with Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie. He revealed what went into the spectacular last-second strike from the Brit against the then No.1 pound-for-pound ranked fighter.
Sharing the various strategies that went behind the impressive championship victory, the coach said:
"To be honest, It wasn't a technique that I think was there early out the doors. Because without going into huge details about what we're doing but there's a lot of strategy and we drilled a lot of things with that. You can't just go and throw a head kick especially out the doors. He's probably going to be fresh, the reactions are high."
Adding further, he said:
"So it was a technique that I thought was going to land later on with some of the work that he had done throughout the fight. Perhaps might have seen him throw caution to the wind a bit earlier on than he did. It certainly was something we were strategizing to sort of set up if you like."
Check out the entire interview below: