Leon Edwards given tips by Alexander Volkanovski on handling hate from critics - "They will all jump aboard eventually"

Alexander Volkanovski sees similarities between himself and Leon Edwards in terms of the criticism they have faced in their careers. Ahead of Edwards' title fight against Kamaru Usman this weekend, Volkanovski shared tips with 'Rocky' on how to handle the hate.

According to Volkanovski, the best way to handle criticism is to stand your ground when people want to pull you down. 'The Great' is confident that critics will eventually give Edwards his due share of respect if the Brit keeps on proving them wrong. The UFC featherweight king recently told Fox Sports Australia:

"As I say, you know what I mean, like, don't take any of that... You know, I won't say the word but stuff like that. People are gonna bring you down and do all that. You just gotta be like, 'Uh uh, I ain't going nowehere'. Keep winning, keep taking them out and then you go and take that belt and just keep going, you know. That's how I was. Even when I was champ I felt a little disrespected. But again, I stood my ground, ain't going anywhere. They will all jump aboard eventually."

Watch Volkanovksi's interview with Fox Sports below:

Volkanovski dethroned arch rival Max Holloway via unanimous decision at UFC 245 in 2019. The Australian felt the MMA community did not give him due credit for his title win over Holloway. The featherweight went on to beat 'Blessed' in a rematch the following year and also in a recent trilogy bout at UFC 276.

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Leon Edwards believes Kamaru Usman is distracted ahead of their UFC 278 clash

Leon Edwards will face Kamaru Usman in a rematch at UFC 278, this weekend. The two met for the first time in 2015 in what was Usman's sophomore UFC outing. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' had outgrappled Edwards for the most part en route to a unanimous decision win.

While Usman went on to become the welterweight champ, Edwards has racked up an impressive nine-fight unbeaten streak since their first meeting. However, 'Rocky' believes the welterweight champ is not entirely focused leading up to their UFC 278 rematch.

The Brit claims to have come a long way since his first meeting with Usman and has warned the welterweight champ about thinking otherwise. Edwards said during the UFC 278 media day:

"He's talking about everything apart from the fight. He's talking about going up to 205, fighting Canelo, everything apart from the fight. I'm so focused on becoming a world champion. If he thinks it's gonna be like the first fight, he's already lost the fight. I've erased that fight out of my mind a long time ago. If he thinks I'm the same kid as in that fight, then we'll see Saturday night."

Watch Leon Edwards' appearance at the media scrum below: