If Leon doesn't land the headkick on Usman...

[TerraRayzing]

And Usman wins. How does the division play out after that? IIRC, Usman was one fight away from tying Silva's record. He had defeated Burns, Colby and Leon and the next challenger would have been Belal, who, as good as he is, I doubt would have been able to beat Usman.
Wild card would be Khamzat who was still considering WW around then but 5 rounds with in (mostly) Prime Usman in a five rounder and full camp might have been a different story.
How many more defenses do you think Usman would have gotten had he defeated Leon? Do you think, considering the contenders at that time, he would have broken Silva's record?

 

[Kung Fu Kowboy]

If the head kick doesn't land?

He doesn't lose to Edwards
He doesn't move up to 185 and lose to Khamzat

And since he doesn't have those losses ... He is still in his Prime

 

[CatchtheseHands]

IMO prime Usman that never lost to Leon likely continues to defend until he loses to Islam or Shavkat.

 

[JKS]

I think he would have fought Belal after and won that one and continued his streak.

 

[OmegaRugal]

He would have continued his winning ways most likely.

Khazmat didn’t have the cardio for him
Belal would be pesky but be outstruck most likely.


That head kick did not just physical but psychological damage to Usman and that is why he lost the second fight with Leon imo. He was gun shy

 

[Prazeres]

Next challenger would have likely been Khamzat, they wouldn't have made booked the Nate fight if not for the Leon Usman trilogy being made. Considering how well an older Usman performed on super short notice up a weight class and how he well he performed better as the fight went on I think he would have won over 5 rounds at 170.

 

[TerraRayzing]

He would have continued his winning ways most likely.

Khazmat didn’t have the cardio for him
Belal would be pesky but be outstruck most likely.


That head kick did not just physical but psychological damage to Usman and that is why he lost the second fight with Leon imo. He was gun shy

Agreed and Usman himself admitted that in a recent interview. That Leon KO messed up his confidence real bad, which, props to him as many fighters won't say that outloud.

 

[andgonsil]

He would fight Khamzat at WW

Khamzat ducked Leon

 

[SuspectChin]

Don't know but do know that the head kick sent the division back by three years. Leon was a mediocre champion and a dirty fighter.

 

[BoxingFan653]

If not for the bad knees he may potentially still be champ. His fight IQ and style are world class

 

[Portland8242]

Right up there with the hypothetical of Cain if he never underestimated the altitude of Mexico city.

 

[Pequeño Corey]

One fight away from tying Silva?

 

[Versez]

He would still probably be champion in 2023, but after this...it would narrow his path....beginning 2023-2024 the WW division was getting stacked.

 

[OmegaRugal]

He would still probably be champion in 2023, but after this...it would narrow his path....beginning 2023-2024 the WW division was getting stacked.

Is it really?

We just saw JDM put up a worst fight against Islam than Portier and Volk.

And besides Belal, who did JDM beat that was amazing? WW hype seems … unwarranted atm.

We just saw their Champion get utterly embarrassed by a LW who almost lost to a BW.

 

['Suga Daddy']

Next challenger would have likely been Khamzat, they wouldn't have made booked the Nate fight if not for the Leon Usman trilogy being made. Considering how well an older Usman performed on super short notice up a weight class and how he well he performed better as the fight went on I think he would have won over 5 rounds at 170.

Bit of revisionist history there. Usman Edwards 2 was at 278 and Khamzat Nate was for 279. So yeah they would've booked it still.

 

[joy2day]

Well, Leon did handily beat him in the rematch, so....

 

[Goldentrophy]

I think he wanted to fight Jan at lhw he semmed pretty serious until Leon kicked the reality back down to his head

 

[Egészségére!]

That kick derailed one of the most ambitious callouts ever. Don’t feel like looking it up but Usman said on Rogan that after winning that fight he intended to fight Jan at LHW then 2 other big fights I think Khamzat & some other killer. Basically the 3 best fighters between WW & LHW.

I believe he was serious so yeah what a difference a kick makes

 

[dominion]

That kick derailed one of the most ambitious callouts ever. Don’t feel like looking it up but Usman said on Rogan that after winning that fight he intended to fight Jan at LHW then 2 other big fights I think Khamzat & some other killer. Basically the 3 best fighters between WW & LHW.

I believe he was serious so yeah what a difference a kick makes

Jan would have defiled him

 

[L0ki]

I think the loss shook him enough to have changed the rematch.

If he didn't lose that, he would still have that same confidence.

A significant portion of the MMA community thought he beat or Drew Khamzat.

If he had beaten Edwards, it's likely that the Khamzat fight would've been more solidified in his favor and the landscape for divisions changes.