Leon Edwards is not a great fighter

He has great skills but he’s deliberate and not a big knock out artist (in the ten fight unbeaten streak that lead to the title shot he finished one fight with strikes and it was a TKO).

It’s going to be difficult for Leon to beat elite welterweights with high output (namely Usman, Colby and Khamzat).

That being said, it’s not crazy to think that a guy with Leon’s technique might start to add more knockouts as he hits his peak.
 
pamirec said:
Might not be great, but good enough to win the title and maybe defend it couple times.
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So if you win one of the hardest belts in all of combats sports and defend the belt a couple of times you are still not a great fighter. LOL.
 
I'd argue Leon is more skilled than Usman but doesn't have a dominant skill like Usman has in his wrestling. He also doesn't push the pace like Usman does

Usman looked like a whitebelt on his back though.. had no threat or ability to do anything once he was taken down
 
chinarice said:
I'd argue Leon is more skilled than Usman but doesn't have a dominant skill like Usman has in his wrestling. He also doesn't push the pace like Usman does

Usman's looked like a whitebelt on his back
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Elite wrestlers don't train off of their back so that makes sense. For most opponents getting an Usman or a Cormier etc on their back is too much of a hassle to even try, and they know most opponents won't waste energy trying to get them there so why bother training for it?

What Leon did putting Usman in that position is honestly astounding and I don't think anybody but Leon and his team thought it was coming.
 
Edwards is a good fighter, maybe great. I will say though if that kick never happened and the last minute of the the round played out like the first 4 nobody would be talking about how Edwards posed a real threat or had an amazing performance in his loss. He seemed content on trying to survive rather than taking risks and try to survive. The amount of times he let Usman walk him down giving up ground without throwing or even feinting was insane, I lost count.
 
He's well rounded as hell, viscious elbows in the clinch. Hasn't lost since first Usman fight. Somehow took Usman down and controlled him in first round. Sure he got his ass whooped for 20 min. Sure his grappling will probably never be enough to negate an Usman

But people can improve and become great. I don't like his odds in the 3rd fight but right now it's time to give him some respect. Truly fought as a champ
 
NILLI said:
So if you win one of the hardest belts in all of combats sports and defend the belt a couple of times you are still not a great fighter. LOL.
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Just sayin’. No matter what people call him, dude has an impressive streak and finally the belt.
 
Substance Abuse said:
Leon's win is truly bringing out all kinds of stupid the last twenty four hours. It's impressive.

Conor trolls. Usman haters. All the guys who disrespected Leon before the fight. It's like one big pile of crap.
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Not like this hasn’t happened before.

images
 
Leon Edwards has all the skills and talent to be a great legendary fighter. But looking at him, he's one of those guys that is not mentally strong enough to believe it. Obviously he won the fight, but you can see the doubt in his eyes when walking to his corner. If he had a stronger mental fortitude he can be a formidable opponent.

I hope this win will give him extra confidence and mental fortitude. But there is Chimaev coming around the corner, so it's going to be tough road ahead for Leon.
 
Gracious Warrior said:
Leon's victory last night prompted me to go to fight pass and watch some of his old fights. I'll be honest as much as I watch this sport I've probably seen 2 Leon Edwards' fights before last night.

Anyway my takeaway after watching a few of his fights is that while he's a very good fighter with flashes of brilliance he's very clearly not a great fighter. There's just something missing there. I can't quite explain it. I guess it feels like he's missing that second gear that great fighters have, like a super saiyan mode they can launch into when it gets rough. There's nothing flashy or awe inspiring, and honestly I'm not sure what his strengths are because it appears like he's competent in everything but not great. I predict that the Edwards era will be 1 title defense at best, but probably loses his first defense. Very good fighter, just not great.
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I agree with you, but he's better than the people they put in front of him and that's all that matter. He's gun-shy. He doesn't have really a dog in him. He likes to pick his shots, he doesn't sense the momentum in a fight. Dude doesn't fight like he's up or down in a fight. He doesn't have like the sense of where he's at in a fight if that makes sense. That being said he's the WW champ who beat a dominant champion and you can't take that away from him.
 
When i watch Leon, I never think that he is not good enough, I always think man... This guy has all the skills, he should be even better than he is. I guess his passivity is what I don't like. Skill for skill, he is a monster.
 
Substance Abuse said:
Leon's win is truly bringing out all kinds of stupid the last twenty four hours. It's impressive.

Conor trolls. Usman haters. All the guys who disrespected Leon before the fight. It's like one big pile of crap.
Click to expand...

<Grimes01>

Don’t forget the keyboard warriors, the Khamzat gurglers, and the covert American nationalists.
 
He's good for what he does. He's patient long counter striker with good precision/distance management and who showed a new dimension in his game-being able to grapple with a strong wrestler and keep the fight standing. Enough to beat Usman who is a novice striker that was able to impose wrestling on everyone else except Leon.
Mostly a point fighter so we will see if more aggressive fighters can beat him.
 
Gracious Warrior said:
Leon's victory last night prompted me to go to fight pass and watch some of his old fights. I'll be honest as much as I watch this sport I've probably seen 2 Leon Edwards' fights before last night.

Anyway my takeaway after watching a few of his fights is that while he's a very good fighter with flashes of brilliance he's very clearly not a great fighter. There's just something missing there. I can't quite explain it. I guess it feels like he's missing that second gear that great fighters have, like a super saiyan mode they can launch into when it gets rough. There's nothing flashy or awe inspiring, and honestly I'm not sure what his strengths are because it appears like he's competent in everything but not great. I predict that the Edwards era will be 1 title defense at best, but probably loses his first defense. Very good fighter, just not great.
Click to expand...
He's not missing an 11 fight win streak.
Or the UFC belt.
Or a win over the supposed WW goat.
 
Substance Abuse said:
Leon's win is truly bringing out all kinds of stupid the last twenty four hours. It's impressive.

Conor trolls. Usman haters. All the guys who disrespected Leon before the fight. It's like one big pile of crap.
Click to expand...

I know it's always like that after events but it really seems so much worse these days.
 
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