Francis Ngannou sends words of encouragement to Kamaru Usman following his UFC 286 loss to Leon Edwards: “You are a champion with or without a piece of metal my brother”

Francis Ngannou has sent words of encouragement to Kamaru Usman following his UFC 286 loss to Leon Edwards.

UFC 286 took place this past weekend at The O2 Arena in London, England.

The main event featured a welterweight battle between Kamaru Usman (20-3 MMA) and Leon Edwards (21-3 MMA). It was Edwards who scored a majority decision victory (48-46, 48-46, 47-47) and retained the welterweight belt.

The two originally met in December of 2015 where is was Usman who defeated Edwards by unanimous decision. Seven years later, Edwards got his revenge, defeating Usman via KO in August of 2022 at UFC 278 and ultimately claimed the UFC welterweight title. Following the trilogy fight last Saturday, Edwards does indeed remain on top of his game.

Edwards, speaking to reporters at the post-fight interview, had this to say when asked about getting in the cage with Usman a 4th time:

“Probably not. Probably not. It’s been three fights now. I want to move forward in my career. I look toward different fights.”

Although a definite blow for the 35-year-old ‘Nigerian Nightmare’, he’s getting some love from Francis Ngannou following his most recent loss.

‘The Predator’ took to ‘Twitter‘ posting a picture and the following message for Usman:

You are a champion with or without a piece of metal my brother. Your legacy is already cemented in the history of the sport. @USMAN84kg

We are always behind you 🤴🏿🤴🏿🤴🏿🇳🇬🇨🇲 #3kings pic.twitter.com/rf0UjzrN1y

— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) March 19, 2023

“You are a champion with or without a piece of metal my brother. Your legacy is already cemented in the history of the sport. @USMAN84kg”

“We are always behind you #3kings.”

Of course, Francis Ngannou (17-3 MMA) knows the feeling of being without a belt. The 36-year-old parted ways with the UFC earlier this year and in the process was stripped of his own heavyweight belt.

Ngannou is now a free agent and has left the sports world wondering what his next move will be. Rumours are swirling and it looks like a boxing match is imminent, but nothing has been confirmed to date.

As for Usman, we’ll have to wait and see who he’ll get into the Octagon with next. One thing is for sure, Usman will be looking to get back in the win column soon, in an attempt to put those back-to-back losses to Edwards behind him.

Do you agree with Francis Ngannou that Usman is still a champion with or without a ‘piece of metal’?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!