“But that is not the cloth from which he is cut” Almost perfect timing from Jon Anik as Leon Edwards threw the head kick with 58 seconds remaining in the fight. Down went Kamaru Usman as Leon became only the second-ever British UFC champion.
Kamaru Usman was cruising to a unanimous decision in the second fight and was close to retaining his number 1 pound-for-pound status in the UFC. But Leon was prepared and had been setting up the head kick throughout the duration of the fight.
It showed pure grit and determination from Leon “Rocky” Edwards to bring the belt home and do something no one has ever done to “The Nigerian Nightmare:” knock him out.
It provided parody in the current welterweight division with Covington, Masvidal and Burns all losing to Kamaru Usman fairly comprehensively. Usman was coming close to lapping the division and was more than likely facing a Belal Muhammad or Khamzat Chimaev had he lasted another minute in the cage at UFC 278.
Leon Edwards mentioned that the altitude at UFC 278 was a factor in his performance saying he prefers to fight closer to sea level. This time around, Usman won’t have the higher altitude on his side.
When Usman fights, Justin Gaethje fights, and UFC 286 is no different. In the co-main event, Justin Gaethje will look to defend his ranking spot against the hugely impressive Azerbaijani Rafael Fiziev.
And so here we are, fight week of UFC 286. The conclusion to the Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman trilogy. There will be no rematch, it’s a true winner-takes-all match and Leon gets a chance to defend the belt in his home country.
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