Nigerian UFC fighter, Kamaru Usman, on Sunday morning, failed in another bid to reclaim his welterweight title from champion after losing to his conqueror, Leon Edwards, in a
unanimous decision.

This loss would be the third the “Nigerian Nightmare” will be suffering in the hands of Edwards in his quest to take back his title.

The much anticipated Edwards vs. Usman 3 was the main event at UFC 286, with the Jamaican-born Edwards proving that his previous wins over the Nigerian in August 2022 was no fluke.

A report by Yahoo Sports said “Edwards out-landed Usman 120-87 in significant strikes and landed 74 per cent of his significant strikes. Usman attempted 15 takedowns but landed only four and could do little with them.”

“Though Edwards admitted afterwards that the fight was his hardest to date, Usman was not as good as he was last August until the late head kick knocked him out,” it added.

The defeat also means that Usman has now lost two consecutive fights for the first time in his professional career and it is hard where he will go from here.

In the post-match interview in the ring, Usman said he believed he had done enough to have won.

“I think it was a close fight. Great game plan; you know, I have always said it from the start, I will see Edwards again. We did it and I am not done,” Usman, who now has a 20-4 win-loss record, said.

“I have always given him props for all that he has been able to accomplish and just like me, he is a brother like myself and much respect. London, you have got a hell of a guy, a great champion.”

“I will get back with my coaches because you know, I am one of that guys-I can’t sit for too long,” he said when asked of his future plans.

Algerian female boxer, Hadjila Khelif, has clinched Africa’s second gold medal at the ongoing Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi, India.

Khelif picked up the medal the second day of the Championship on Friday after she defeated Russia’s Nadezhda Golube 5-0 in the lightweight division.

Hadjila, who was a gold medallist in the Mediterranean Games and bronze medallist at the Africa Championships in Maputo, Mozambique, was the second African winner in the women’s boxing tournament while five other boxers from Africa failed to pick any medal by the second day of the event.

On day one, Tunisian lightweight, Mariem Homrani, lost 5-0 to Romania’s Andrea Marin, while Kenya’s middleweight, Elizabeth Akinyi, was also trounced 5-0 by Lin Chien-Yu of Taipei.

Two other Kenyan pugilists, lightweight Stacy Ayoma was beaten 4-1 by Moldova’s Christina Chiper, while another lightweight, Teresia Wanjiru, lost 5-0 to India’s Shashi Chopra and Tanzania’s lightweight Beatrice Nyambega was stopped in one minute, 37 seconds of round one by India’s Jasmine Jasmine.