Check back in on this post later on to see who won the UFC 286 co-main event, which is going down from the O2 Arena in London, England.
This post will cover tonight’s UFC’s welterweight title fight between the champion, Leon Edwards and the former champ, Kamaru Usman.
Honestly, Edwards scoring that miraculous come from behind head kick knockout to take the belt from Usman in their rematch was one the greatest MMA moments of all time. What’s interesting to see is how each man will respond to what happened that fateful night at UFC 278 back in August of last year.
Edwards has all of the tools to beat anyone on any given day, and now he knows it. This newfound confidence that ‘Rocky’ has been showcasing could very well translate into someone who is more willing to pull the trigger more often inside of the Octagon. I can’t prove this, but confidence might go further in fighting than in any other sport. This could be the start of the Leon Edwards era, but then again, one hard round on his back could also zap every ounce of that swagger.
Chins can’t come back better after a knockout loss, but fighters can. Usman made one big ass mistake when he was less than a minute from defeating Leon for the second time. Without that lone lapse in defense, we wouldn’t be having this trilogy bout in England.
Skill-wise it doesn’t feel like Kamaru has a bunch of things that he needs to fix in order beat Edwards, but how risk-adverse is he going to be? There were several moments in the second fight where Usman was tee’ing off with reckless boxing combos. Is that same sort of aggression on the feet going to be there tonight, or is Usman going to try to put even more emphasis on his grappling? I’m definitely excited to find out!
The early prelims begin at an extra start time of 12:30pm ET/9:30am, PT, immediately followed by the regular preliminary card. Both broadcasts can be streamed on ESPN+. The PPV main card is slated for 5:00pm ET/2:00pm PT, and can be purchased on ESPN+.
- Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman: Welterweight Titlte
About the author: Eddie Mercado has covered combat sports since 2015. He covers everything from betting odds to live events and fighter interviews. He holds a 1-0 record in pro MMA and holds a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu. (full bio)
