"I didn't want him to go out like a lamb" - Coach Dave Lovell tears up as he describes the confusion he felt while cornering Leon Edwards against Kamaru Usman at UFC 278

In a heartwarming interview, Leon Edwards’ coach Dave Lovell opened up about the confusion he felt while cornering his longtime student against Kamaru Usman at UFC 278.

Usman, a pound-for-pound MMA great and then-UFC welterweight champion, was cruising to a unanimous decision victory against Edwards. He was up 3-1 on the scorecards and was winning the fifth and final round as well.

‘Rocky’ was noticeably gassed after round one, courtesy of the altitude in Salt Lake City, Utah. Meanwhile, Kamaru Usman, who's known to spend several months of the year training at high elevations in Colorado, was the visibly fresher fighter.

Despite the disheartening situation, Lovell and the rest of Edwards’ corner relentlessly encouraged their fighter in-between rounds. Ultimately, Edwards stopped Kamaru Usman with a thunderous head kick KO in the final minute of round five.

In a heartwarming interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Lovell explained that he and the others initially didn’t understand how much the altitude adversely affected Edwards.

Apparently, they were confused to see Edwards inexplicably gas out after winning the first round. Lovell then burst into tears, as he emotionally recalled motivating Edwards before the fifth round. Indicating that he wanted ‘Rocky’ to try his best irrespective of the outcome, Lovell stated:

“I just didn’t want him to finish a fight quiet as a lamb. This is his big moment, and you’re gonna go out; at least, Leon, go out with a bang. At least, give the crowd, give yourself a chance.”

“I just wanted him to just go out on his shield. I didn’t want him to go out like a lamb. And yeah, it was [*unintelligible] call it a divine inspiration; where he pulled it from, God only knows.”

Watch Lovell discuss the topic at 1:17:12 in the video below:

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Kamaru Usman is willing to face Leon Edwards in their trilogy matchup in his native England

Kamaru Usman beat Leon Edwards via unanimous decision in 2015, whereas Edwards won their rematch via fifth-round KO earlier this month. Speaking to TMZ Sports, Usman has now asserted that he’s willing to travel to Edwards’ native England for their third fight.

UFC president Dana White recently indicated that the trilogy matchup could potentially take place at Wembley Stadium in London. Moreover, Usman is excited about the prospect of fighting ‘Rocky’ for the UFC welterweight title in England. The Nigerian-American fighter said:

"We're going to see what date makes sense. It's going to be top of next year and I want to go to England. I've been feeding to go to England, I feel like England is my second home. England is half-Africa.”

Watch Kamaru Usman’s interview below: