10 Life Lessons: Leon Edwards knocks out Kamaru Usman

August 24, 2022

Okay it’s really 2 lessons:

1. Never give up
2. Do a walk off KO if you can

For various reasons, I was watching this at McDonald’s and trying to do some gesture drawings—lots of trying to draw Usman pushing Edwards up against the fence. I was wrapping things up and ready to head home when the 5th round ended.

Then Usman crumpled to the mat.

When I first started watching boxing & MMA, I believed the whole thing that “Oh anything can happen at any time.” Which is what people have said after this fight.

There’s truth to it. Anyone can win at any time with a KO or submission. But if a fighter is way up, they have the option to turtle up, hop on the bicycle, and just make it to the end of the fight to win by the judges’ decision.

They’ll usually take that win.

Wins out of nowhere are memorable because they don’t happen very often. One requirement: the losing fighter doesn’t give up.

As for the walk off KO, it just looks cooler. You’re showing a little more discipline than the fighter dropping a hammer first on an obviously unconscious opponent. (Though I would never say that to Ngannou’s face.)

How does this apply to actual life?

Discipline throughout your day means that you’ll finish the work you intended when you start the day. You won’t feel rushed in the afternoon and evening. You can do you shut down routine and truly recharge and be present in your leisure time.

(For more advice on walk off KOs, check out some Mark Hunt highlights. For more tenuous lessons between MMA and life, check out my post with 9 takeaways from Mark Hunt’s autobiography.)