Outside of a few scares here and there against Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns, Kamaru Usman has been a truly unstoppable force throughout his run inside the octagon.

Usman joined the UFC in July 2015 fresh off the heels of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 21. Since then, he’s won 15 consecutive bouts and become champion along the way. Now five title defenses deep into his reign, Usman is lapping the competition having fought the same two men in four of his five defenses with the aforementioned Burns being the outlier.

Next in line for Usman is expected to be the surging Brit, Leon Edwards, who rides a 10-fight unbeaten streak. Ultra confident in his capabilities, the champion intends to get past Edwards sometime during the summer before trying his hand in the squared circle for a crossover boxing match with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. The likelihood of this fantasy matchup coming to reality feels unlikely in the minds of many, including Dana White, and Edwards feels especially so if he has anything to say about it.

“I don’t know where he’s at,” Edwards said told The Mirror. “There’s no way he’s going to beat Canelo anyway and there’s no way he’s beating me. I saw something came out the day where he said he’s coming out to wrestle for the whole fight, he can do what he wants. I’m ready to go.

“It’s either the payday or he’s trying to test himself, one or the other. It’s not a long career, so if you can get paid, get paid. I’ll be the champion when he leaves, so I’ll take the belt off of him then he can go and do what he wants to do.”

As fresh of a matchup as Usman vs. Edwards may feel considering each’s recent stretches, they too are already familiar with one another. The last time “Rocky” tasted defeat — only his third loss in 23 fights — was against Usman in 2015 after “The Nigerian Nightmare” had made his debut at the TUF 21 finale.

All these years later and plenty has changed. Edwards recognizes the clear improvements of the champion but simply doesn’t foresee the same outcome that was a unanimous decision in his adversary’s favor.

“He’s improved loads, but so have I,” Edwards said. “When I fought him I was 22 years old, I’m now 30 years old. I’ve learned a lot over that space of time but so has he. It’ll be a totally different fight from what it was back then, so we have to look at it as a new fight.”

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TOP STORIES

Robbery. MMA Fighting’s Alexander K. Lee provides a Retro Robbery Review for Paddy Pimblett vs. Julian Erosa at Cage Warriors: Unplugged.

Bum. Israel Adesanya believes Paddy Pimblett is ”getting fed a bum” at UFC London.

Nope. Dana White shoots down potential Kamaru Usman vs. Canelo Alvarez boxing match.

Relocation. Colby Covington calls for title shot against Israel Adesanya.

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VIDEO STEW

Between the Links.

Baddy TV.

How well do “Meatball” Molly and Paddy know each other?

Top 10 Welterweight Knockouts in UFC History.

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LISTEN UP

We Got Next. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck chats with Eryk Anders, Pearl Gonzalez, and Cody Brundage.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Sato got jokes.

Good memories for “Drago.”

Sweet triangle, bro.

Tom + Darren.

Fitz BTS.

To Middle Earth!

Fitness with GSP.

“I can’t let you get close.”

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Emmanuel Sanchez (20-7) vs. Yancy Medeiros (15-8); Bellator 279, Apr. 23

Chidi Njokuani (21-7) vs. Dusko Todorovic (11-2); UFC Fight Night, May 21

Brendan Allen (18-5) vs. Jacob Malkoun (6-1); UFC 275, June 11

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FINAL THOUGHTS

I think Usman vs. Edwards 2 has the potential to be really fun over the course of five rounds. But man, it’s crazy how just one single punch has made me feel like Leon’s chances are way worse than they would be had he not have been hit with that one punch.

Thanks for reading and have a great and safe weekend, everyone!

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EXIT POLL

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