Although Leon Edwards is the undisputed welterweight champion of the UFC, there are instances when his championship belt comes under public scrutiny. When the champ fights out of his homeland, the suspicions of cheating and home ground advantage keep on rising. Well, that’s what an MMA analyst thought of back when ‘Rocky’ faced Kamaru Usman for the second time. 

Hayden Iverson, on his Instagram page, @hayjivepicks, broke down the fight between ‘Rocky’ and ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’. But did you know that he blamed Edwards for deploying dirty tactics? Let’s find out!

Did Leon Edwards cheat his way to victory against Kamaru Usman?

On the 25th of July, Iverson released a video on his IG page that had the words, “Leon Edwards blatantly CHEATING against Kamaru Usman” written on top of it. The MMA analyst seemed pretty worried for Belal Muhammad as he gets ready to enter the Octagon and fight Edwards in Manchester, at UFC 304. He claimed, “ I’m worried for Belal Muhammad this Saturday, because the last time Leon Edwards fought in the UK, he cheated his way to a victory.”

Breaking down the fight between Edwards and Usman, Iverson pointed out that Edwards had his fingers slipped inside Usman’s gloves to prevent a takedown, in the very first round. Needless to say, Herb Dean had to call it out, but nothing was done about it. In the second round, ‘Rocky’ attempted to kick ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’, but his leg landed on Usman’s groin. 

In round number 3, Edwards grabbed the fence while trying to escape from Usman’s takedown attempt. This left Iverson surprised when no action was taken against the foul. Immediately after that, the welterweight champ committed a fourth foul by grabbing the fence once again. This time, the referee was forced to deduct a point from Edwards’ scoreboard. But soon after, Edwards’s strike landed on Usman’s groin again and the fight was stopped for a while. “Pretty flush to me,” the MMA analyst made a comment on the time out.

Iverson was surprised when he thought that Edwards was out of his tricks, but came up with an eye poke in the fourth round, followed by another fence grab. The final foul that the champion committed that night was sliding his fingers inside Usman’s gloves one more time to defend a takedown. Iverson opined, “8 fouls committed, 1 point taken, and Leon Edwards goes home with the belt once again. If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying, ladies and gentlemen.”

Did you know that Edwards was accused of cheating by Colby Covington, as well? Without a doubt, following the gruesome eye poke that overturned his bout with ‘Remember The Name’, and fight fans talking about his foul plays, his opponents were bound to talk about it.

Colby Covington branded ‘Rocky’ as the ‘biggest cheater’

In an interview with ‘All Out Fighting’ on YouTube, before he challenged Edwards for the championship belt, Covington revealed his thoughts about Edwards’ fight with Usman. ‘Chaos’ didn’t leave a single stone unturned in talking trash about his opponent. He even questioned the WW champ’s tactics to win the fights.

‘Chaos’ said, “And as a fighter, Leon Scott is the biggest cheater the sport’s ever known. I thought Marty Usman was the cheater man, this guy makes Marty look like a freaking saint… I mean the guy’s the biggest cheater the sport has ever seen.”

However, the former UFC referee, Big John McCarthy swooped in to the champion’s rescue. McCarthy opined that simply pushing against the fence was not a foul move in the UFC. He indeed stood tall in his defense of Edwards. 

But let’s turn back the clock and think. Did Edwards really cheat against Usman? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.