Edwards: Stephens’ power not scary
The thing I took from studying tape on him is that he loads up on his punches, Edwards told the…
The thing I took from studying tape on him is that he loads up on his punches, Edwards told the Sherdog Radio Network’s Beatdown show. Yeah, he hits hard … but I think the confidence in his power makes him try to use it every time. He tries to kill. He tries to win the football game with one throw.
I feel really comfortable countering guys, to throw punches when he’s throwing punches but getting out of the way at the same time, Edwards said. I just wanted to get his timing down. The shot, I threw it intentionally. I wanted to hit him hard, and it was just a perfect shot. It got there at a good time. I was still trying to work his timing out as far as when he tenses up and he’s ready to go. I kind of could see that, but I didn’t know I was going to clip him with that and shut him down. I knew I was going to hit him, but the force of my punch and him running into it is what brought him down.
It wasn’t a clean shot, but a little bit of it got through and I felt it, Edwards said of one of Stephens’ strikes. It felt like he has a lot of power, but I’ve fought a lot of guys over the years and I can go way back. I’ve fought a lot of guys with some power. … It wasn’t something that was scary to me, but it was nice to know where he stood and what he was bringing to the table.
