UFC 286: Edwards vs Usman 3 - Mar 18 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[neil]

Very solid performance from Leon that. I did start to worry it was turning in round 3 with him grabbing the cage, I had no issues with that as he was going down regardless. I seem to recall thinking Leon won the first two rounds, Usman the third and with the point deduction put them even. I remember the forth being close but Leon won the fifth for sure. No issues with the decision from me.

First time I ever recall seeing Usman looking tired - whether cardio or from taking shots I don't know. He definitely didn't look great in the last round, very average looking attempts at takedowns.

Sorry Leon, but the Colby fight is the one to take. Its a bit sad to me that he's even asking for Masvidal to be honest - that whole "three piece" shite happened in 2019. The ship has long sailed on it. It would be more compelling for this fight if Masvidal was ranked higher but he's 11th right now.

Maybe if Masivdal put the BMF title on the line...🙄

[wandshogun09]

13 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

I was hoping Edwards would face Masvidal first, because I'm still a bit wary that Cuntington could win against Edwards - he's only lost to prime Usman, remember. He's potentially the second best in the division, at present. 

I’m not sure where I rank Colby anymore. He can’t be the second best for me anymore though because Leon’s now the man and Usman’s still 2-0 over Colby. So Colby’s getting bronze at best. For the longest time we accepted that he was the nailed on #2 in the Welterweight division because of how those Usman fights went. But now Leon’s significantly upstaged that. 

Looking back at his record, I think Colby’s run overall has been a bit overrated. Not taking away from his performances in the Usman fights. He gave Usman a real run for his money both times. But aside from that, I think his resume overall isn’t as impressive as many, including a lot of us on here, have made out. It’s all been wins over 35-40 year olds who were on the decline. Masvidal and Woodley haven’t looked at the races for a while. And Lawler was obviously past his peak. Colby hasn’t beat anyone recently who’s both highly ranked and on top form. His best win is still probably RDA back in 2018 for me and I can’t even remember how that one looked.

I know this sounds like I’m just dumping on him because I don’t like him but I genuinely don’t mean to do that. Like I said, he deserves credit for his showings against Usman, despite the results. But outside those Usman fights, he’s really not been fighting the best guys in the division. There was a fair bit of talk about Colby fighting Chimaev not that long ago, that went nowhere. There’s no reason we shouldn’t have seen Covington vs Burns over the last year or two. Or Covington vs Edwards before Edwards won the title. Now Belal Muhammad is claiming he was offered the Colby fight on the London card and it came to nothing. Don’t get me wrong, Colby’s played it smart. He just keeps getting these title fights. I can’t even blame him. What’s he gonna do? Say “No, Dana I really haven’t earned this. Let me fight that Shavkat Rakhmonov guy everyone’s talking about”. I get it. But I’m not really sure how I’d rate him compared to some of the other top contenders. It’s hard to rank him properly when he’s not fighting any of them. 

[Carbomb]

23 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

I’m not sure where I rank Colby anymore. He can’t be the second best for me anymore though because Leon’s now the man and Usman’s still 2-0 over Colby. So Colby’s getting bronze at best. For the longest time we accepted that he was the nailed on #2 in the Welterweight division because of how those Usman fights went. But now Leon’s significantly upstaged that. 

True, but that's why I said "potentially" - it all hinges on whether or not it's because Leon's become the best, or because Usman is on the slide. If it's the former, then ol' cunt chops is third, but if the latter, then there's always the possibility he's second, or, worse still, the best. His match with Masvidal doesn't really tell us anything, because anyone who's expected to be a contender should be getting past that bell-end. I really hope it's the former.

23 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

Looking back at his record, I think Colby’s run overall has been a bit overrated. Not taking away from his performances in the Usman fights. He gave Usman a real run for his money both times. But aside from that, I think his resume overall isn’t as impressive as many, including a lot of us on here, have made out. It’s all been wins over 35-40 year olds who were on the decline. Masvidal and Woodley haven’t looked at the races for a while. And Lawler was obviously past his peak. Colby hasn’t beat anyone recently who’s both highly ranked and on top form. His best win is still probably RDA back in 2018 for me and I can’t even remember how that one looked.

I know this sounds like I’m just dumping on him because I don’t like him but I genuinely don’t mean to do that. Like I said, he deserves credit for his showings against Usman, despite the results. But outside those Usman fights, he’s really not been fighting the best guys in the division. There was a fair bit of talk about Colby fighting Chimaev not that long ago, that went nowhere. There’s no reason we shouldn’t have seen Covington vs Burns over the last year or two. Or Covington vs Edwards before Edwards won the title. Now Belal Muhammad is claiming he was offered the Colby fight on the London card and it came to nothing. Don’t get me wrong, Colby’s played it smart. He just keeps getting these title fights. I can’t even blame him. What’s he gonna do? Say “No, Dana I really haven’t earned this. Let me fight that Shavkat Rakhmonov guy everyone’s talking about”. I get it. But I’m not really sure how I’d rate him compared to some of the other top contenders. It’s hard to rank him properly when he’s not fighting any of them. 

That's fair, and I really hope it's the case that he's just been smart about his opponents. 

It saddens me to say, but I don't fancy Leon's chances against Chimaev or Rakhmonov, so I really hope he gets some defences before his number comes up.

[Kfogg1991]

I love Colby as a promo machine but let's be absolutely honest here Colby kept dismissing Leon and saying he was not ever interested in that fight but now he's champ he's calling Leon out for saying he isn't interested in fighting him 

[David]

I understand to an extent the talk about how Covington has only lost to prime Usman (I hate that phrasing, because I'm already hearing people say that Edwards caught an old, on-the-slide Usman) but the truth about Covington is that besides Usman who beat him twice, he's beaten a legit on-the-slide Woodley who was coming off two losses, a Robbie Lawler who was two fights deep into what would be a four fight losing skid, RDA who was embarking on a 1-4 welterweight run before heading back to lightweight, a 40 year old Demian Maia who was in the middle of a three fight losing skid, and so on.

Basically, while it's true that he has only lost to Usman of late, that's because he's not fought a legit top 5 welterweight opponent in five years. 

[Bus Surfer]

It's all about the game and how you play it. 

 

Team CC! 

[Carbomb]

58 minutes ago, David said:

I understand to an extent the talk about how Covington has only lost to prime Usman (I hate that phrasing, because I'm already hearing people say that Edwards caught an old, on-the-slide Usman) but the truth about Covington is that besides Usman who beat him twice, he's beaten a legit on-the-slide Woodley who was coming off two losses, a Robbie Lawler who was two fights deep into what would be a four fight losing skid, RDA who was embarking on a 1-4 welterweight run before heading back to lightweight, a 40 year old Demian Maia who was in the middle of a three fight losing skid, and so on.

Basically, while it's true that he has only lost to Usman of late, that's because he's not fought a legit top 5 welterweight opponent in five years. 

Again, absolutely fair - I hadn't really thought too much about the quality of his opponents; I'd really just looked at the fact he was granted two title shots based on a long run of wins. Should've looked at the finer detail. 

It's eased my concern, so thanks for that, guys.

As regards using the phrase "prime Usman" - it's not because I necessarily think he's on the slide, but more because we don't know what his situation actually is yet right now, so the verdict is still pending, whereas we can definitely say that the Usman that beat Covington twice was doubtlessly at the height of his powers.

[wandshogun09]

36 minutes ago, Silky Kisser said:

It's all about the game and how you play it. 

 

Team CC! 

[David]

Edwards response to the Covington fight apparently already being decided without his input or opinions on the matter:

Quote

“I don’t know how that makes sense,” Edwards said. “He hasn’t fought for over a year and a half. Sat out, not injured, I just don’t get how he just slides in for the world title shot when there’s other guys in the division that’s been active, been fighting, didn’t sit out.

“Like I said, I’m the king now. I’ve earned my way. I feel I should decide who’s next.”

I really hope he sticks to his guns and doesn't allow Dana to just run over the top of him. 

Edited March 20, 2023 by David

[Carbomb]

It does seem really arbitrary which champions seem to get to choose their opponents. Presumably there are reasons why Plastic Caesar has allowed some champions to decide their opponents, and others not? Or are there actual, material barriers that even he would think twice about trying to breach or run roughshod over?

I mean, I'm fairly sure it's the usual thing to do with money and draws, i.e. that he won't try to force a drawing champion into a match they don't want, in which case he probably doesn't care as regards Edwards, but if anyone knows anything more, I'd genuinely be interested to know.

[David]

4 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

It does seem really arbitrary which champions seem to get to choose their opponents. Presumably there are reasons why Plastic Caesar has allowed some champions to decide their opponents, and others not? Or are there actual, material barriers that even he would think twice about trying to breach or run roughshod over?

I mean, I'm fairly sure it's the usual thing to do with money and draws, i.e. that he won't try to force a drawing champion into a match they don't want, in which case he probably doesn't care as regards Edwards, but if anyone knows anything more, I'd genuinely be interested to know.

It may just be me, but I got the feeling from the post-fight press conference that Dana wasn't overly impressed by Edwards, and isn't that enthused about him being the champion. Again, it may just be me.

Usually, he's quick to say that fights don't get made at post-fight press conferences, yet he's announcing the next fight as a definite without even discussing it with Leon first? That, for me, shows exactly what he thinks of Edwards.

If Usman had won that fight, you think he'd be announcing his next opponent without consulting him? Come on man, the guy is the fucking champion. You at least show him the courtesy of discussing his next fight with him before telling the media who he's facing.

Edwards is basically backed into a corner now. If he decides that he doesn't think Covington deserves a shot (and he doesn't) then no doubt Dana will and the fans who float on his every word will insinuate that Edwards is a coward and running scared. Despite the fact he has knocked out cold and then pretty handily decisioned the very guy who broke Covington's jaw and beat him twice.

We're not just talking about a champion here, we're talking about someone who's undefeated the past seven and a half years. Someone who's went 11-0-1 since then. 

To put it in perspective, the last time Leon Edwards lost a UFC fight he was on the same card as Tamdan McCrory beating Josh Samman, Cole Miller faced Jim Alers, and Nate Marquardt beat CB Dollaway. 

[Kfogg1991]

Leon has just been on ariels podcast and he just said as the champion who has been disrespected and overlooked for all these years he does have a say in this and Colby isn't getting that title shot because he doesn't deserve it 

[Dai]

Being undefeated in the last seven and a half years means absolutely nothing with regards to negotiating power with Dana. Despite the fantastic performance, its still only Leon Edwards. Dana couldn't give two flying fucks if he's champion or not. He's not a big star. Even the Masvidal fight wouldn't do huge business.

As shown with big Francis, who is a miles bigger star than Edwards, Dana doesn't give a shit if you're champion or not. Leon has no say in whether Colby gets a shot, unfortunately. If he refuses the fight, Dana will just create an interim championship and have Colby fight for that, and just allow Leon to sit out. He can say what he likes, but unless your McGregor, every fighter is playing in Danas world.

Edited March 20, 2023 by Dai

[WeeAl]

An incredible performance from Edwards in that fight. Usman didn't look at it at all, but again, a decent part of that could have been the sheer amount of shots to the legs and body that he was eating. There was no doubt in this decision for me. I scored it like this:

R1) Edwards 10-9

R2) Usman 10-9

R3) 9-9 (Thought Leon won the round minus the point)

R4) Edwards 10-9

R5) Edwards 10-9

For a 48-46 card for Edwards. For what's next, I think it should be Burns, after he dispatches Jorge Madvidal into the Gulf of Mexico. 

If Khamzat Chimaev didn't fuck up so badly last time out then it would have been him, but I'm really not sure how from the UFC's point of view, you could trust him in a title situation at 170 going forward. I'd just book him to fight the winner of Adesanya/Pereira. Tell Colby to fight Shavkat and see how much gibber gabber he puts out then, or if we have to break the milk cartons out again. 

Gaethje Vs Fiziev was tonnes of fun. As you would think it would be. Fiziev's speed looked like it was going to tell the whole story for a while but Gaethje eventually got a foothold and made it into exactly his kind of fight. A really good performance from both men here, in victory and defeat. I actually scored it for Fiziev, but that second round was razor close in my eyes. The first and third were the easy score cards. Glad Gaethje got the nod though because it sounds like the next loss and he's for the pipe and slippers (for a few months or so until the itch gets hard to scratch). Taking one more run at the title as he put it - Gaethje Vs Poirier II, around August/September in a #1 contenders fight? Give me it straight up, right in the eyeball. 

The most surprising thing on this whole card, was old Marvin Vettori going to a decision. Shocking stuff that right there. Taking money off bookies at this shit should be easy, when you have the least Italian looking Italian hanging about the place. 

[Egg Shen]

11 hours ago, Dai said:

Being undefeated in the last seven and a half years means absolutely nothing with regards to negotiating power with Dana. Despite the fantastic performance, its still only Leon Edwards. Dana couldn't give two flying fucks if he's champion or not. He's not a big star. Even the Masvidal fight wouldn't do huge business.

 

The London card did an £8 million gate. Double the previous highest UK gate. Edwards might not be the single factor driving that, but clearly having a UK Champion defend in his own country boosted business significantly. I fairly certain any London fight with Edwards headlining going forward does massive business.