On the main card of UFC 278 held at Vivint Arena, USA, the dominant UFC champion Kamaru Usman (20-2 MMA, 15-1 UFC) unexpectedly lost his title after losing by knockout in revenge with Leon Edwards (20-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC).
The head kick came after nearly four rounds of relative domination by the Nigerian champion, who curbed the British with strong grappling, submitting, and control. Edwards looked very frustrated at times but ultimately scored the result he wanted in a timely fashion. Below, you can find a detailed overview of this match and the future for both fighters.
Usman is the Most Dominant UFC Champ
After obtaining a dominant UFC welterweight title reign that included five defenses, Kamaru Usman earned him the title of pound-for-pound king. In this regard, the Nigerian had an impressive series of 19 consecutive victories and was considered by many as the greatest welterweight fighter in MMA before the match with Leon.
It’s not a surprise that Kamaru was very favored in this event, which was clearer in all betting odds on the https://gg206.bet/en-ca website. The platform listed Usman as the -360 favorite, while Edwards came back at +280. Indeed, the big favorite was winning the fight handily according to all three judges’ cards.
“The Nigerian Nightmare” Came Close to Another Victory
Even though Edwards started Round 1 strong, he wasn’t able to muster up much offense. In turn, Kamaru Usman had dominated all facets of other rounds before the knockout blow at the last minute of the fight. Let’s look more closely at each round of the fight.
Round 1
Leon Edwards managed to surprise his opponent in the starting segment. He flipped the script in a burst and found himself landing in full mount for the first time inside the cage. Then he took his back and tried in every possible way to hunt for Kamaru’s neck. The Nigerian held out with a nice side-to-side flurry. But this was a huge round for Edwards.
Round 2
In the second round, Usman got things on his terms by attacking the overlapping contender with accented series on the floors. Edwards snapped occasionally at best. In the end, Kamaru recorded a takedown, riding the Brit for the final 30 seconds of the round.
Round 3
In the third round, Kamaru continued to pressure Edwards along the fence with pressure against the mesh and then received him with two japs to his face that drove the Brit back. Leon was only forced to defend himself while Usman laid on top of him for about a minute. Finally, Edwards managed to get to his butt and defend until the round’s final.
Round 4
At the beginning of the fourth round, Leon was able to get the Nigerian pressed up against the fence. However, this turned out to be a fake takedown as Usman grabbed the fence to remain upright. Seconds later, Kamaru scored a strong takedown by getting into Leon’s guard. The crowds were growing restless while watching Edwards’ efforts to break free for almost 2 minutes. Finally, the Brit managed to get on his feet by means of the fence, which is illegal. Thus, judge Herb Dean put them back in position before the round came to a close.
The Greatest Comeback in UFC History
Following the decisive results of four rounds, the fight wasn’t close with Usman winning 3-1. The Nigerian only needed to avoid a knockout to retain his title and prove MMA Greatest of All Time with six successive title defenses. However, in Round 5, the unexpected happened as Edwards authored one of the greatest comebacks in UFC history with a fifth-round head kick of Kamaru Usman. In this way, at 4:04 of the final round, the Brit blocked his opponent out of the line of sight by a left jab that cranked Usman.
Leon Edwards Got a $50,000 Bonus for his Knockout
Since December 2015, Edwards has not lost (10-0). And the December loss came against none other than Usman. The latter defeated Edwards via unanimous decision. In the rematch, it was also coming down to the fact that the winner would be announced via unanimous decision. That said, Leon pulled off a clean knockout victory to claim the welterweight title. The Brit not only won the UFC title at UFC 278 but also got an extra $50,000 for his efforts.
Kamaru Usman Vows to Bounce Back
After the fight, Dana White said a trilogy between Kamaru and Leon is on the horizon. Shortly after the event, the Nigerian issued a short message on social media after the fight. He tweeted that the champs messed up sometimes but then bounced back and came with vengeance. The former champion later added a second message to congratulate Edwards on his achievement.
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