Am I crazy to think that Leon wasn’t impressive?

[Orochimaru 大蛇丸]

Not finding Edwards impressive has been Sherdog's mistake his whole career.

Its why hardly anybody gave him any chance to win tonight and why people are already saying he will lose either the rematch or a fight with whoever else they put him in with whether that's Khamzat, Colby, Masvidal or whoever.

Shertards don't learn, but this place wouldn't be half as entertaining if they did.

Excitement and marketability are not skill. Edwards is amongst the very best welterweights to ever do it skill for skill. I've never before seen a fighter THIS good be this disrespected and overlooked.

A lot of people were giving Leon a chance going into this

 

[King in the North]

He’s losing that belt regardless of who he fights next. Pulled a spectacular KO out of his ass. Respect. But lightning won’t strike twice for him.

 

[kuroro]

I think that this fight exemplifies MMA.
For all that talk of "My fighter beat your fighter therefore he is the better fighter"... that's just wrong.
Usman proved to be (by far) the better fighter.
But that is meaningless.
Leon hung tough and kept trying, and was successful in the last minute of the fight, and THAT is what counts.
Usman was KTFO by Leon.

That also should serve as a huge proof of how amazing Fedor or Khabib's unbeaten streaks were.
Because as Leon showed, it doesn't matter if you are not the better fighter, one well placed kick/punch and you win the fight. A "puncher's chance" is still a chance, and it does happen!

I am legit happy for Leon. For all the criticism, all the hate he suffered.
I am also a little sad for Usman. After all, he was close to a very hard record to beat (Silva's). He also showed that he was the superior fighter...for all that this may be worth!

Now let's see if Dana gives him an instant rematch or not.

i dont get this at all. the better fighter is the one who won, unless it was a literal fluke victory which this was not.

 

[TGArthur]

The thing in question was his cardo, but he was fighting in Utah. I would love to see a rematch in Vegas

 

[Shaddows]

i dont get this at all. the better fighter is the one who won, unless it was a literal fluke victory which this was not.

If you don't get it, you either did not watch the fight, or you don't understand MMA.

 

[kuroro]

No. I thought the same thing. Usman was winning comfortably before the ko. That's cool that he pulled that out at the last minute and all, but we know what happens if Usman doesn't get caught. He probably wins a decision. They'll have an immediate rematch and Usman will win.

what happened was already something that wasn't supposed to happen. so what if something that isn't supposed to happen happens again in their third fight? life isn't ruled by logic of that kind. question common sense.

 

[kuroro]

If you don't get it, you either did not watch the fight, or you don't understand MMA.

so... what if their third fight goes exactly the same way? grapping dominance for three rounds straight only to get ko'd in the last round again? will usman still be better than edwards?

 

[kuroro]

a ko expunges the scorecard--period.

 

[Small Town Andrew]

He got dominated and will lose his next fight assuming it's the Usman rematch or Chimaev. It was a pretty boring fight so I hope they dont run it back.

That being said credit to him for landing the kick. What a great moment

 

[Lasse Stefanz]

So happy he's getting champ money. Deserves it.

 

[Tapatio]

I thought it was super impressive how Marty couldn't do anything with him while on top and how he was able to get up a few times.

 

[EricSpider]

I bet on Leon because I thought maybe Usman at his age would not have the same physicality he once had to just wrestlefuck Leon all fight or maybe he was just in love with his striking and that would cause him to be outstriked. Neither was the case and I was impressed by Kamaru's performance.

One doubt I had about Leon was about his mental. We know Usman has the mind of a champion and would be mentally strong (showed it once again by coming back after the 1st round). In that aspect I was disapointed by Leon as he looked like a broken man for the majority of the fight. Couldnt handle Usman's mental fortitude and pressure for the most part.

I would not say Edwards was not impressive because for sure he showed very impressive skills in the first round and obviously with the KO. But I get what you're saying.

 

[ElZid]

I was disappointed with his pace and lack or urgency but he did some very impressive things out there.
Took Usman down and controlled him.
Got back to his feet multiple times.
Did not got rocked or anything like that.
Still looked fresh by the beginning of R5.
I mean this is impressive when you consider he was fighting freaking Kamaru Usman.

 

[Shaddows]

so... what if their third fight goes exactly the same way? grapping dominance for three rounds straight only to get ko'd in the last round again? will usman still be better than edwards?

In ANY fight, anything can happen.
If you don't know that, you simply do not know this sport.

But the same way Serra was not better than GSP, Leon is not better than Usman.
If you want to see who's better, there are a few ways:
you compare the body of work for both fighters. Their careers. Their opponents. The way they won or lost a fight.
And when it's a head to head fight, you compare the overall fight, not just the last punch/kick.

I don't know how both fighters will react. So it is impossible to say who will be better if/when they fight again.

But the fact remains. Not always the better fighter wins.
Your "if you won, you are the better fighter" is a simplistic and obviously wrong way to look at ANY fight.

 

[rjmbrd]

I think that this fight exemplifies MMA.
For all that talk of "My fighter beat your fighter therefore he is the better fighter"... that's just wrong.
Usman proved to be (by far) the better fighter.
But that is meaningless.
Leon hung tough and kept trying, and was successful in the last minute of the fight, and THAT is what counts.
Usman was KTFO by Leon.

That also should serve as a huge proof of how amazing Fedor or Khabib's unbeaten streaks were.
Because as Leon showed, it doesn't matter if you are not the better fighter, one well placed kick/punch and you win the fight. A "puncher's chance" is still a chance, and it does happen!

I am legit happy for Leon. For all the criticism, all the hate he suffered.
I am also a little sad for Usman. After all, he was close to a very hard record to beat (Silva's). He also showed that he was the superior fighter...for all that this may be worth!

Now let's see if Dana gives him an instant rematch or not.

This is a complete dog shit take.

When both guys were fresh, Leon literally dominated Usman. Took him down. Mounted. Ground & pound. Back mount. Submission attempts.

The first round ended with Usman unable to reverse or escape.

Round 1 is dominant win for Leon, rounds 2,3,4 are solid but uneventful 10-9 rounds for Usman. The last round featured Usman getting knocked out dead.

Even if Usman magically survived the head kick and got back up, he would have lost that round and had a marginal 3-2 decision where he won the least dominant rounds.

Never change sherbros.

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

The grappling difference wasn't that massive. Leon stuffed plenty and got back to his feet many times even after being reset. He also took very little damage. Usman was definitely in control and definitely winning. Leon also took Usmans back, took him down and nearly subbed him in the first

Add in the elevation and Leon did just fine, really

 

[Dorkman]

The thing in question was his cardo, but he was fighting in Utah. I would love to see a rematch in Vegas

Dana mentioned Wembley in England for the rematch possibly, would be 75 ft elevation. As oppose to Utahs 6100.

 

[Armbars]

Control goes to Usman and obviously he was 2 minutes away from the W.

But you got to give Leon huge props for attempting to finish the fight in the first round and nearly achieving that, then in the last round executing a magnificent finish.

 

[chimpoehurricane]

First off, props to still having mental toughness to still go for it with only a minute left. Amazing picture perfect set up and knock out shot. One of the cleanest knocks outs I’ve ever seen.

But as a whole, I wasn’t terribly impressed by Leon and still come away thinking Usman is the better overall fighter. The strength difference was apparent, the gap in wrestling/grappling was massive and Usman looked to be out striking him on multiple occasions.

Didn’t have a horse in this race….didn’t care who won and credit to Leon…but as a whole…I expected better from him through out the fight and see no reason as to why Usman doesn’t comfortably win the rematch. Sometimes the ending doesn’t tell the story of the entire fight.

Of course there’s always the chance that a Usman isn’t the same after a vicious knock out like that as well….

New? A walk off head kick ko vs wall and stall or sleeping on a fighter for 4.5rds? You what?

 

[GoshiShun17]

He was badly overmatched and got a fluke win. Not much different than when Nate almost KOd him. It's almost a moral loss. Like he knows what the score was and that one good kick doesn't really overshadow him getting dominated.

Uuuuummmmm it kinda does....