"We live in a cancel culture where idiots are always looking to be smarter than everybody else" - Din Thomas addresses criticism over analysis of Leon Edwards' body language during UFC 278 main event
UFC analyst Din Thomas has hit back at "cancel culture" after receiving criticism from fans for his analysis of Leon Edwards during the Brit's performance against Kamaru Usman at UFC 278.
Leon Edwards stunned the world when he captured the welterweight title against Kamaru Usman last weekend. The 30-year-old was down 3-1 on the judges' scorecards heading into the fifth round. However, with just under a minute left on the clock, 'Rocky' set up a fake left hand for a head kick that knocked 'The Nigerian Nightmare' out cold.
During the broadcast, Din Thomas could be regularly heard in commentary offering his analysis. Thomas' criticism came after he described Edwards as "broken" and "embarrassed of his own performance" only for the British fighter to win the title minutes later.
Din Thomas (who cornered Tyron Woodley) needs to apologize to Leon Edwards for basically calling him a quitter in the Usman fight. Dude was just biding his time unlike Woodley. #UFC278 https://t.co/CSRcyoZe2z
In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Din Thomas defended his comments:
"We live in a cancel culture where idiots are always looking to be smarter than everybody else, so obviously everyone's like, 'Oh well, that didn't age well' blah blah... To me, first off, the fact that Leon Edwards had that first round, then gets beat the next three, he was getting frustrated, that's probably what's running through his mind... When that fight was over, Leon put his hands up and his head down. When you're proud [of your performance], do you put your head down? No."
Catch Din Thomas' full interview here:
Leon Edwards' striking coach describes the strategy behind the head kick KO
While some fans may consider Leon Edwards' head kick KO just plain luck, his striking coach Henry Cleminson has revealed it was anything but.
'Rocky' forever etched himself in MMA history after producing one of the biggest comeback victories the octagon has ever seen. While on paper Usman was the favorite, including having a win over the British-Jamaican fighter, nobody could have predicted the shocking finish.
Despite being down on the judges' scorecards and the finish coming so late, Cleminson has revealed that the head kick was in fact a strategy that had been drilled to be used for the championship rounds.
In an interview with MIke Bohn of MMA Junkie, the striking 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."
Cleminson added:
"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."
Catch the full interview here: