Footage of Kamaru Usman’s reaction following UFC 278 has been released.

‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ faced Leon Edwards as the headliner in Salt Lake City last Saturday night. The bout was a rematch of their previous encounter at UFC on Fox in December 2015. In that outing, Usman scored a unanimous decision victory.

However, in the highly-anticipated rematch, ‘Rocky’ flipped the script. In the fifth and final round, Edwards landed a devastating head kick that put Usman out cold. With that, the Brit evened the series at 1-1 and became UFC welterweight champion.

The moment shocked fans for a variety of reasons. However, the main reason was that the champion was up three rounds to one heading into the final round. Usman looked to be cruising to another title defense before Edwards ended his reign in the most stunning fashion.

Now, footage of Kamaru Usman’s immediate reaction following his defeat has been released. The footage was documented by acclaimed videographer Will Harris, in his series ‘Anatomy of a Fighter’.

The clearly stunned former champion gain praise from the man who defeated him. Usman also compared Edwards to former UFC veteran Emil Meek, whom he fought in 2018.

“Did he land anything significant? No?… Leon’s a tough dude. The thing, the reason he’s a tough guy is because even when I break his spirit, break his will, the next round he always starts with the heat. It’s almost like he replenishes, he doesn’t stay on [empty]. He’ll come back, even though I remind him very quickly to go back down, he always comes back with it. That’s very fucking dangerous when guys fight like that.”

“The only other guy that really fought like that was Emil Meek, the viking. That motherf*cker I would have to beat him into the ground to stop him. You know, props to them. But, all I have to do to beat those guys is outclass them, and I did that. But, sometimes, something crazy happens… Good job ‘Rocky,’ see you soon.”

What do you think about Kamaru Usman’s comments? Sound off in the comment section below!