There’s a lot going on in the UFC right now, but Ariel Helwani says the forthcoming trilogy bout between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman deserves more attention from Dana White.
White confirmed Ngannou’s departure from the promotion during his most recent press conference because the two parties were unable to reach an agreement. The return of light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and his rematch with Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 on March 4 was also announced by Dana the same night.
The welterweight trilogy between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman is set for UFC 286, Dana White announced on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/lfuWbFicbU
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 15, 2023
Ariel Helwani believes that a blockbuster event such as “Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman 3” has not yet received the attention that it merits because of the two other major announcements that were made on that night.
According to Helwani, the announcement of the fight matchup ought to have been more official and brought more attention to itself so that fans could be more captivated to the fight. A recent episode of The MMA Hour had Helwani venting his frustrations over the issue.
“I kind of chuckled a little bit. People love to say… ‘Oh man, you really screwed the UFC with that Brock Lesnar announcement.’ … Meanwhile, these massive fights like Leon and Kamaru 3, huge UK pay-per-view… first time since 2016, just gets announced in a throwaway comment at a press conference. Like, come on. The argument that they have these big plans all the time, like, ‘You’re really screwing their plans.’ said Helwani.
Leon and Usman squared off in the octagon for the first fight in 2015, during which Leon suffered the second loss of his career in the UFC. Seven years later, when they fought each other again in a title match, Leon exacted his vengeance in Salt Lake City, Utah. In less than half a year, the accomplished fighters will face each other once more to conclude their trilogy encounter at UFC 286.
Due to the fact that Rocky and The Nigerian Nightmare are currently tied 1-1 in their matchups, it is not hard to comprehend that this confrontation will be a spectacular one. Since Dana did not make a big deal out of the occasion, this prompted Helwai to take a jab at him.
“A throwaway comment. Kamaru Usman versus Leon Edwards 3, one of the biggest fights of the year, just gets thrown away like that. ‘Oh, and by the way, forgot to mention, that fight’s happening. Oh, and by the way, Fiziev versus Gaethje too. Like, nothing? That’s it? That was the big announcement?” Helwani further added.
The trilogy is on! Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman will have their rubber match for gold at #UFC286.
Full story: https://t.co/NLHz7hDDWf pic.twitter.com/0ZfNzw1900
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 15, 2023
Who do you think will prevail in the third fight between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman?
