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UFC welterweight contender Michael Chiesa feels Leon Edwards could give the welterweight champion Kamaru Usman a tough test if they collide in a rematch sometime in the future.
Chiesa believes the new version of Usman could be neutralized by Edwards. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' has always used a wrestling-heavy style inside the octagon. However, he has improved his striking ability greatly of late after training under renowned MMA coach Trevor Wittman.
During the most recent episode of The MMA Hour, 'Maverick' told journalist Ariel Helwani that if Usman uses a more boxing-based strategy against 'Rocky', he could have some problems.
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"Kamaru Usman, as time has gone on, he has evolved into being a good striker. Working with Trevor Wittman has really rounded off his game. He is dang near bulletproof across the board. If you look at the stats, he is a good wrestler, he's got great takedown defense, great string, ground skills and he's got it all. Being that he has fallen in love with his hands, I do feel a guy like Leon Edwards could give him some problems if Kamaru strays away from the gameplan that he had to beat him the first time. So if it is a striking battle, I see Leon having some success," said Chiesa.
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Watch Michael Chiesa in conversation with Ariel Helwani below:
Usman (20-1) and Edwards (19-3-1) faced off for the first time at UFC on Fox: Rafael dos Anjos vs. 'Cowboy' Donald Cerrone 2 way back in December 2015. The former won the outing via unanimous decision.
Michael Chiesa will fight Sean Brady at UFC Fight Night 198 this weekend
Meanwhile, Michael Chiesa (18-5) is set to square off against undefeated No.14 welterweight contender Sean Brady (14-0) at UFC Fight Night 198 aka UFC Vegas 43 on Saturday.
Chiesa's four-fight winning streak came to an end at UFC 265 in August this year. He lost to No.4-ranked Vicente Luque via submission in the first round.
Michael Chiesa will be looking to get into the title picture with a victory over his countryman Brady. However, it won't be easy as his upcoming opponent is a former Cage Fury FC welterweight titleholder and one of the best prospects in the game.
