Wednesday March 22, 2023 – Francis Ngannou has claimed his friend Kamaru Usman didn’t train properly’ because he was injured for much of his training camp prior to the UFC 286 defeat by Leon Edwards.
The former UFC heavyweight champion, who left the organisation to pursue other opportunities earlier this year, is close friends with Usman and claimed the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ was not fully fit for his London headliner at the weekend.
Usman lost a decision against Edwards, who retained his welterweight title on home soil over the weekend.
Ngannou said on his YouTube channel: ‘I know that he didn’t train. He didn’t have [time] to train properly because of a lot of injuries, but he was there.
‘He was there. It’s a victory, an unfortunate victory, but I think now he’s mentally healthy than what he was before.’
Ngannou added: ‘Usually when people get knocked out, they don’t come back in the fight. Like, they will be like wobbly, he [Usman] was there before which is like a lot of step back.
‘I know that he didn’t train, he didn’t have to train properly because of a lot of injuries, but he was there.’
And he also believes Usman can come back and win his old belt again, whether that be against ‘Rocky’ or someone else.
‘Let’s see what’s next. I believe he’s going to get it back. I believe it,’ he said.
Usman insisted that his training camp since being knocked out cold by a head kick last August had gone perfectly and did not disclose any issues himself.
He credited Edwards’ gameplan afterwards, with ‘Rocky’ able to defend takedowns and land punishing shots, often to the knees.
Usman has had issues with his knees throughout his career and often wears a brace to train.
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