UFC commentator Jon Anik and former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman preview the UFC 296 main event on …
all right Final Countdown is on to the last UFC live event of the year and as you might expect the Combat Sports leader has stacked the deck for UFC 296 on pay-per-view from the fight Capital first this is UFC Live presented by draftking sports [Applause] book this is the moment you truly all have been waiting for the Welterweight Title on the line we’ll headline our last pay-per-view of the Year what’s wrong with you you’re too now you got to pull it out of Fire come on Leon man you got it man come [Applause] on head shot dead comington is a guy who’s going to bring you to that dark place in the Cole main event next UFC flyweight Champion I worked so hard for that My Moment face is Randon Roy Val talking like Leon’s a chant he ain’t the chant man he he’s got to come through me the should te- mobile arena in Las [Music] [Music] Vegas with that welcome into this special edition of UFC live on location here in Las Vegas John anak here inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena and coming up I have got the man the future Hall of fam with the Nigerian Nightmare Kamar Usman to help us break down the final pay-per-view of 2023 but don’t tape the award shows just yet because the year usually closes with consequence that is absolutely the case Saturday night with our Championship Double Header let us show you all that is coming your way on pay-per-view 10 p.m. Eastern Saturday only on ESPN plus all these fights look like absolute bangers in the opener Josh EMT stepping up to the plate he will take on the always dangerous Bryce Mitchell who steps up on short notice at lightweight the former interim champ Tony Ferguson will try to get untracked he takes on the returning Patty pimpl featured b a welterweight shav cot rock manov is all the rage he’ll put his 17-0 record on the line as he takes on Steven Warner boy Tom and then of course your two title fights alandre Pantoja in the First Defense of his flyweight gold he draws the electric Brandon royval and the main event you may have heard Kobe Covington looking a breakthrough against the incumbent Lon Edwards speaking of Leon Rocky Edwards he became the man at 170 lbs in August of 2022 it was UFC 278 he had waited seven long years for the rematch with Usman delivered that night and then Edwards won the ensuing meeting by majority decision that was in March at the 02 and now with confidence gained from those two wins over the altimer Usman Edwards turns his attention to the returning former interim Champion kobby chaos comington twice prior he has vied for Undisputed gold twice kamaro Usman has been the better man and now after a near two-year layoff Covington is back in a championship setting in search of the ultimate career Capstone so Colby Covington has become the biggest heel in the UFC since he committed to embracing the role of the villain in advance of this third and perhaps final crack at Undisputed golden Glory he sat down with Brett okamoto to discuss among other things why he is one of the most interesting fighters in the promotion and why he will soon be the next UFC welterweight champion we’re over at Trump International most Fighters can’t even find an Uber ride to get here I’m showing up in a helicopter so I think that shows who’s the biggest and best in the welterweight division right now over the course of your uh wrestling career were you a guy that people cheered for or were you a guy that people wanted to see lose um definitely people wanted to see me lose cuz you know I had that Brash style I wasn’t afraid to push someone’s head in the mat and be mean you know I wrestled mean I you know I was very physical I got in people’s face and I let it know it was going to be a dog fight your winner [Applause] KOB and so you were doing that from an early age like sort of like with anger as your as a motivation huh I think me not finding success till later in high school and later in college was what really set me up to be where I’m at today because I had to face those trials and tribulations I had to face the setbacks and the failure but the failure just made me stronger it made me want it even more so I you know I got back to the wrestling room and I got back to that blue collar work ethic mentality and you know I went to the grindstone and and just committed myself to being the best I could be I want people to hate me that’s a business model no one cares about you you’re boring Man Marty fake newsman Street Judas we got unfinished business I’m coming for you you’re next I’m here to make the division great again and you know what I’m going to do by making the division grade again I’m going to the White House I’m putting this on Donald Trump’s desk I’ve always been the villain the bad guy so I love the boobs I love people telling me that I can’t do something or or doubting me you know I think the doubters have always been my fuel for motivation proving them wrong it’s okay you know I like playing that role it’s it’s it’s a lot funner that way why do you think that they’re like that why why don’t people want you here in this spot they’re jealous and they’re envious and that’s the simple truth they wish they had the relationship with the president he’s a much better fighter than the GOL right they wish they could do the things I do they wish they could fly in helicopters from Miami to West Palm Beach on a day’s notice so you know they’re jealous that’s all that is Brazil you’re a dog every fight pretty much s the Brazil situation if someone would ask me Brett who’s the good guy who’s the bad guy in this fight like i’ probably label you as the bad guy in every single one this one I’m not so sure about man because when you walk in in a Las Vegas Arena with a US flag around I think you might be the good guy in this one do you feel that and then how much are you looking forward to that yeah I I definitely feel that because at the end of the day this is about pleasing the fans if the fans don’t rally around you and and they don’t give you the support then the UFC is not going to care for you you have to drum up that support one way or another so December 16th it’s going to be a show BR I’m coming to get that Bell I promise you that all right now we are absolutely thrilled to be joined by the future Hall of Famer the Nigerian Nightmare Kamar Usman what a pop from the locals here in Las Vegas as you made your way here to the set and I must say if I could pick any man’s brain in the world in advance of this fight it would be yours so thank you for being here thank you I appreciate it uh once more getting back up here and enjoying getting to just be a spectator talk about fights yeah you’ve been smiling a lot more this week than maybe in h fight week’s past but you have a rich history obviously five fights combined with the men on the Marquee Leon Edwards and Colby Covington let us start with Colby Covington because most people consider him your foremost rival would you suggest that he was the guy that was your Chief rival and fought you the closest I I would say so I think um Covington brings a lot of tools to the table that I do as well and you know and I said this to him in in one of our our heated press conferences back in the day where I said he’s just going to have to accept the fact that in the the era that he lived it was just someone that was just a little bit better than him cuz you know those tools that he has are are they beat everybody else I mean can you remember the last time that you actually saw him in a fight that he didn’t just kind of do what he wanted in the fight right you know and and that’s the thing with Covington he can wrestle very well he can strike very well to the untrained eye they think he’s just in there being sloppy but he’s just so calculated with how he picks those shots that they start to add up over time right and then you put in the fact that he’s not going to slow down you know all it’s going to do is he’s going to get worse for you if you start to slow down because he’s going to start to pick up steam and think that oh he’s slowing down I’m going to pick up more steam right so unless you possess that tool that can slow him down and make him think about what he’s doing I think it’s it’s very difficult to be able to deal with a guy like that and Kobe has said when he was 8 years old playing soccer he just felt like he had more wind than his contemporaries felt like he had that Third Lung from a very early age now one angle one narrative leading into this fight has been Colby Covington’s layoff longest of his career hasn’t fought since March of 2022 he has been very dismissive of that as a potential factor in the fight do you think that’s a fact he has been dismissive dismissive of it but for me I as a wrestler as a competitor as a fighter as well as I I’m that type of guy to where I know that once I’m consistent I build that Rhythm and I don’t have have to get right you know go through that mental anguish of getting there and getting ready so I don’t know how that’s going to affect him I mean there are some guys that can be gone for a while I Dominic Cruz pop right back in and nothing changed nothing happened so you know if that’s the case for him then you know we can expect the best form Kobe comington that we’ve ever seen But if not you know that that layoff it tends to make you Rusty because now the distance is off because you haven’t been in there for a while you know the pace is off cuz you you know you haven’t been in there for that that layoff so I’m anxious to see which Kobe comington comes out we know he can weaponize Pace we know about the output output I should say you’ve been in there with him though for north of 49 minutes so as you look ahead at this matchup between Colby and Leon Edwards what do you think col’s biggest Advantage is in this particular matchup I think Kobe’s biggest Advantage is the ability to adjust to what’s happening in the fight um he knows he has a a a I guess what they want to call it a rocket pack on his back and and that he never gets tired so when you’re in the fight and you’re letting the fight play out the one thing about him is he doesn’t necessarily Go full out okay I’m going to throw all my punches with as much intensity as possible try to get this guy out he’s just ticking away sticking away and sticking away at you and then starts to kind of assess how that your your your energy your fatigue is starting to set in and if he sees a in the armor he starts to ramp up and I I think that is his biggest weapon is is that ability to be calm in that chaos and start to let things kind of play out with most guys you know we we start to we get nervous and we’re like okay you know this guy’s not stopping here I need to hit him as hard as I can to potentially get him to slow down right and if you can’t do that it’s going to be a long night all right be sure to check out Colby Covington’s appearance on the Stephen A Smith show that is on YouTube before Colby makes the walk to the Octagon at UFC 296 on Saturday night but coming up next you know what it is we will shift the focus to the champ Chon Leon Rocky Edwards he is the betting favorite but is he being underestimated by some in advance of this latest title defense we discuss when we return it’s UFC live on location from Vegas stay with us ladies and [Music] [Applause] gentlemen my leg split in half it’s the most catastrophic injury hands down were they going to amputate his leg you don’t know the totality of the recovery Chris had every complication did you think about walking away E60 presents Chris Weidman the return Sunday 8:30 p.m. eastern time on ESPN same day streaming on ESPN plus all welcome back to UFC Live presented by draftking sports book getting you prime for UFC 296 Edwards V Covington live on ESPN plus pay-per-view Saturday Night Under The Lights the former welterweight King Kamar Usman graciously joining us here in Las Vegas and of course as some of our viewers know you competed in a Trilogy against Leon Edwards so we talked about Colby now we’ll transition to Leon and it’s crazy to think back to 2015 dayline Orlando Florida the first meeting between you guys it was just your second UFC fight and Leon Edwards is fourth what do you remember about that night man I mean I just looking at both guys just from the physique look how tense we were I just remember in that fight just being super tense and of of wanting to be perfect in everything that I was doing but you know still kind of lacking the skills and you know over time you know obviously it could it came but in that fight just being tense of wanting to dominate every single aspect of that fight all right so then after that loss Leon went on a 10-fight unbeaten streak to earn a crack at your Welterweight Title in 2022 and uh you got a lot done in this fight obviously before the shot hurt around the world oh yeah and just just from that just that face off right there just the the relaxation that the body has just transformed into from myself and also Leon Edwards He’s very relaxed you can tell he’s kind of grown into the athlete that he is and yeah the fight was going my way for majority of it but Leon was able to just stay focused and land that ultimate shot that changed his fate all right and then really as the series has been a competitive third fight in London a lot of people thought you did enough to win but ultimately despite your valiance and still Leon gets a Dum by majority decision yeah and and that’s like I said just looking by the physique and trying to put myself in that situation that’s one of the big things that I see in that is that tenseness came back in that fight it was very tense in that stare off for myself and with him being at home in London having the the weight of London on his shoulders but he was able to be you know patient cool calm and collected and was still able to potent to get that job done in that fight which is potentially what we’re expecting here this weekend right all right so a lot of numbers to digest on the trilogy between Kamar Usman and Leon Edwards razor close and terms of these significant strikes landed you see the huge discrepancy in terms of the takedowns Leon Edwards did get one there in Salt Lake City but nearly a half hour of control time for kamaro Usman and as competitive as your Series has been with Leon Edwards you did have a lot of dominant rounds and in part I think that is why some still underestimate Leon Edwards do you believe that by the MMA masses he still does not get the credit that he deserves I I wouldn’t necessarily say he doesn’t get the credit that he deserves I think it’s it’s part of a package of being the champion when you are the champion you know now you everyone’s like they’re going to Google okay who’s the welterweight champion if they may not know it’s oh it’s Leon Edwards okay but what do I know about Leon Edwards what about him what makes him stick out what makes him special you’re the champion you have that belt already but now it’s time for you to show the masses what sets you apart from everybody else and I think that’s what we’re still waiting for for Leon Edward we’re still waiting for that that moment uh that that moment that shows everyone that oh no he’s definitely different right and as much as you can do it outside to try to help yourself you have to be able to do it inside and that moment for me was Kobe Covington one being able to go in there and just throw caution to the win and say you no me and this man are going to stay in here today and we’re going to battle it out and we’re going to show the world that I am the best guy in there and like I said it’s the most fun I’ve ever had in a fight wow it’s also been the closest fight that I’ve ever had and um I think that’s what we’re still missing from Leon Edwards he needs that I know he’s agitated and he’s irritated about what Kobe Covington is doing to him right now but he’s going to be grateful once this is over he’s going to be grateful that I had a guy like that that was able to bring me up and show the world that this is why I’m special beautifully put I want to stay on that though because at the press conference it is undeniable that if Kobe Covington was trying to occupy some space in the head of Leon Edwards he was able to do that now I said to you off the air I do think Kobe Covington has evolved as a trash talker he’s better now than he was against you but to what extent was he able to get in your head whatsoever didn’t seem like he was able to no I I think that was the thing with with with myself and I think that that’s right now what’s played in my head was kind of swaying me back and forth in this fight because up until this morning I was gun ho that Leon Edwards gets this fight done that he gets his win but up until yesterday kind of gave me a little you know like let me think let me think about this here because as a champion at myself I knew I was a champion because of all the work and all the rounds that I’ve put in over and over and over again preparing for those moments so when I got that fight with Tyran Woodley I already knew I was the champion right right and and then fighting Covington and then fighting all these guys back to back I felt that confidence so there was nothing these guys were going to say that was going to make me feel otherwise or act out of character I just had fun with it up there but what I saw from Leon Edwards yesterday to be able to let a man get under your skin with words when we’re in the ultimate proven grounds of throwing fisted cuffs inside a cage just kind of lets me know that hey can this guy evoke emotion with what he’s doing and now when you’re locked inside that cage and things aren’t going your way how are your emotions going to be able to handle that so right now I’m I’m on the fence hard I’ve been on yes I’ve said some nice things about both guys you know which is rare for me but yesterday after what happened right now I’m just on the fence all right well we might get a prediction from you later in the program but in terms of Leon Edwards I’m not sure if there’s an X Factor for him to retain the title he has said that he is in the best shape of his life expectant that him might need the cardio base if it goes to the latter rounds is there an X Factor something we’re not thinking of for Leon Edwards to retain this Welterweight Title I think it’s just his sharpness Leon’s very very sharp he’s he’s not necessarily the best boxer even though he he is good not necessarily best kickboxer even though he is good it’s just something about him as far as finding that timing and he creates space very very well he covers space very very well and I think that’s that’s his biggest his biggest you know asset being able to just show you the hip a little bit throw something in front of you to to set you up and then actually land it and follow through and land it so I think that’s his biggest weapon it’s just the creativeness in in in all that certainly this unbeaten Street for Leon Edwards has been otherworldly he has risen to prominence he has realized Financial Freedom opened up a restaurant for his mother but in terms of the bad blood I mean there was certainly friction between you guys in so far as you had a history but I don’t know that the animosity was anywhere close to what you had with Colby or what Leon has with Colby once that octagon door closes are you confident that Leon’s going to be able to channel it in the right way and put that on the back burner I I I was I was up until yesterday up until yesterday I I I was big time I you know I started to kind of see him grow into being a champion you know take his time and and and you see it in his training it wasn’t as ner he wasn’t as nervous that energy wasn’t there in his training because he knows I’m training for a greater purpose I’m the Champion I’m training to go out there and just get the job done until yesterday kby said whatever he said I don’t I don’t remember exactly what he said but you saw Leon lose it up there yeah that’s that you can’t do that as a champion nothing bothers you right you’re in your Castle you’re in your kingdom with your gold and you’re sitting up there and there’s a bunch of guys a bunch of you know all these Challengers coming up and they’re saying whatever and doing whatever but as the king you should just stay up there and just look at him all and just say if I get off my Throne you know what will happen to all of you guys so just stay down there but yesterday a contender got him off his throne there’s no doubt yeah so that that right there you know leads me to believe that you know I don’t know if he’s all the way confident there and if you didn’t see it the Tipping Point was when Kobe Covington invoked the name of Leon edwards’s deceased father uh certainly most would argue that crosses a line but Kobe not afraid to cross the line to promote a pay-per-view all right coming up next Kamar Usman seat figures to get a little bit hotter he will give us a prediction for the Welterweight Title Fight Edwards or Covington the answer on the other side from Vegas UFC 296 this C is stacked it is badass it’s going to be one of the best cards of the year we have Patty pimble versus Tony Ferguson Wonder Boy versus shop cop keeps getting better and [Music] [Applause] better the the P party goes to the next level lovey let’s [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] go can I please shout out our ESPN editors for that unbelievable feature a few numbers for you from draftking Sportsbook on the methods of victory for Saturday night Leon Edwards to win by knockout or TKO or DQ pays out plus 275 perhaps you like Kobe Covington by knockout 14 to1 Covington by decision plus 240 right now lot of different ways to attack the board and speaking of which it is my favorite time of the program no heavy lifting from me it is now time for our draftking sports book predictions all right so we have heard both men here Leon and Colby talk about a potential champ champ fight down the line buy or sell that the winner calls out a champ champion in a different weight class I mean it’s just it’s kind of ridiculous at this point because I I I do understand the you know the willingness to want to join that illustrious group because that that’s what that is that’s just a completely different group but you know like do something first in the division you you can’t say I want to Champ champ when you defended your belt one time right you know and you haven’t even the other guy hasn’t even won the belt so let’s do that first before we talk about champ champ all right we appreciate your ability to analyze this fight on both sides for us but it has come the time the program we need a prediction who walks away as the UFC welterweight champion ah sorry I was thinking I i’ I’ve been with Edwards all all the whole time but I think after what I saw yesterday I’m going to give the nod to to Covington wow breaking news on UFC Live the former champ going with his foremost rival Kobe Covington we’ll see how it plays out Saturday night draftking Sportsbook is the official sports betting partner of the UFC new customers can make a $5 bet and win 150 in bonus bets instantly sign up now with promo code octagon draftking sports book The Crown is yours all right we got to get on out of here for Kamar Usman and the rest of our crews in Bristol and Vegas John anex signing off from the fight Capital we will see you Saturday night from T-Mobile arena live on pay-per-view for UFC 296 good night