Leon Edwards’ first welterweight title defense was pretty comfortable, according to the judges’ scorecards.
“Rocky” was deducted a point in the third round of his trilogy fight with Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 – but that didn’t change anything for two of the three fight officials.
Getty
Edwards won by majority decision
The two judges who scored the fight 48-46 in his favor helped Edwards win the first two rounds against the man he viciously knocked out at UFC 278 last August.
Judge David Lethaby, who scored the fight 47-47, gave ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ the second round and had things even before the referee controversially took a point from the British champion
Usman managed to get a takedown in the third frame but was unable to keep Edwards down. However, Herb Dean ruled the UK fan favorite was illegally using the fence to get back on his feet and subsequently took a point off him.
Lethaby and another judge scored the third round 10-8 in favor of Usman, while the other judge had the welterweight duo level due to the point deduction.
Ben Catlidge gave Usman a round win for the first time – on his card – in the fourth, but Chris Lee and Lethaby both believed Edwards had done enough to win that five-minute section of the fight.
All three marked the final round for Edwards who would have earned a unanimous decision victory over his biggest rival had the referee not taken a point from him.
UFC-instagram
Two of the three judges scored the fight in his favor – even with a point deduction
Getty
UFC 286 scoreboards sparked wild celebrations from everyone in the O2 Arena
Looking back, the 31-year-old dropping a point didn’t really matter, as the final scores were 48-46, 48-46 and 47-47 and cemented his status as MMA’s top welterweight.
During his post-fight interview, Edwards expressed interest in defending his belt against either Gilbert Burns or Jorge Masvidal who will fight at UFC 287 in Miami next month.
However, Dana White has other plans. The UFC president revealed in his post-fight press conference that Colby Covington will get the next title after crossing the pond to be the backup fighter for the main event of UFC 286.
Edwards insists a fight with Covington makes no sense as ‘Chaos’ hasn’t fought since beating Masvidal at UFC 272 last year and hopes he gets the chance to choose his next opponent.
He said backstage at UFC 286: “I don’t know how that makes sense.
“[Covington] hasn’t fought in over a year and a half. I sat down. Not injured. I don’t understand how he slips away for the world title when there are other guys in the division who have been active and fought. Did not sit down.
“I am the king now. I’ve earned my way, so I feel like I should decide who’s next.
