"Leon cheated in that match a whole bunch of times"- Chael Sonnen brings attention to the unspoken fact of Leon Edwards cheating and preventing Kamaru Usman from finishing him

On an episode of Beyond the Fight hosted by Chael Sonnen, the former UFC title challenger provided an interesting take on Leon Edwards' recent championship victory. Sonnen claimed that Edwards "cheated," referencing that he had to be warned and prevented from grabbing the cage, which is against the unified rules.

Sonnen spoke of how he was able to use this technique to escape positions. 'The Bad Guy' explained how this was very impactful, as these were positions that Kamaru Usman typically could finish the fight from. Sonnen posited:

"Leon cheated in that match a whole bunch of times. That is not a headline or a topic that is out there anywhere... Leon was frustrated in positions and had no way out of positions to the extent that he cheated repeatedly. Not once. Not an accident. Not the ref didn't see it. The ref saw it, the ref warned him, the ref broke the act five or six times."

"Kamaru Usman is very likely to smother you and change you when he is on top of you. He is most likely to finish a fight from that position particularly when he has you pinned up against the fence. Kamaru did three times, Leon changed the position and got out of that three times by cheating."

Sonnen's argument is that had Leon Edwards not broken the rules to escape the position, he would most likely not have seen a fifth round where he had the opportunity to shock the world. Whether that would have been the case is not the reality, and fortunately it appears a trilogy bout is shaping up to hopefully settle all doubts.

Watch the full episode of Beyond the Fight below:

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Leon Edwards shares video of him 'doing his homework' for Kamaru Usman win

Leon Edwards, after becoming welterweight champion, has received accusations of his title victory being a 'fluke'. This is due to the fact that Kamaru Usman controlled most of the action. He was less than a minute away from defending his title yet again, before Edwards scored his legendary knockout head kick.

'Rocky' recently took to Instagram to share a reel of him studying Usman's tendencies and training that exact kick.

Leon Edwards' team had picked up Usman's tendency to throw shots and duck his head. They correctly identified that throwing a head kick at an angle would get around Usman's guard, which is exactly what happened. Whether Edwards would have had the opportunity for this kick without grabbing the cage to escape is impossible to know, but regardless, it makes for an intriguing trilogy.