Leon Edwards: 'I want no excuses' after I beat Kamaru Usman at UFC 278

Leon Edwards claims that he wants to hear ‘no excuses’ when he beats Kamaru Usman.

The two welterweight rivals will renew their rivalry early on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 278 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.

Edwards challenges Usman for the 170lbs belt in Utah on August 20.

The bout will be a rematch of their clash at UFC on Fox 17 seven years ago, which Usman won via unanimous decision.

ALL THE INFO: UFC 278: Date, Announced Fight Card, Location, Kamaru Usman and more

Usman, 35, is widely regarded as the world’s best MMA fighter after registering his fifth successful title defence against Colby Covington last November.

He currently sits atop the UFC’s latest top ten pound-for-pound rankings as a result.

Asked whether he deserves top spot if he beats Usman, Edwards told GiveMeSport.com: “I should hope so.

“The way they’re talking about him, they’re saying he’s the pound-for-pound king, they’ve even put him above Jon Jones.

“So like I said I want no excuses when I go out there and beat him.

“I want him to be held in the same regard as they did before the fight.”

Despite having previously lost to Usman in the past, Edwards added that he believes his fighting style is actually ‘pretty basic’.

He added: “I think his wrestling and what he does is pretty basic. He’s nothing like Khabib or anything like that. I mean, what he does he does it well, but his technique and what he uses is pretty basic you know.

“He relies on being tough and the strongest person in there. His last three opponents – Masvidal, Colby, Gilbert Burns – they’re all like really lightweights. If you look at the structure of them and the size of them they’re all like lightweights fighting.

“I’m one of the biggest guys that he’s fought.