Leon Edwards survived a point deduction to defeat Kamaru Usman again and defend his welterweight title at UFC 286 in London.
‘Rocky’ got a majority decision [48-46, 48-46, 47-47] win after five rounds of fighting with Usman at the O2 Arena on Saturday night.
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The main event of UFC 286 really lived up to the hype
The first round was understandably tentative, but that didn’t stop fans lucky enough to be at UFC 286 from enjoying themselves as they sang loudly for Edwards throughout the first five minutes.
His famous ‘Headshot, dead’ catchphrase echoed around London’s iconic stadium as he drew attention with several heavy kicks in an otherwise uneventful streak of UFC pay-per-view action.
Both men had their moments in the second round, but it was Edwards who continued to impress British fight fans with his skillful striking.
However, Usman landed some big punches and even had some success with his wrestling, which helped him enjoy one of the most impressive UFC welterweight title runs of all time.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ earned a quick third-round takedown but was unable to keep the champion down.
Referee Herb Dean believed Edwards got back to his feet by illegally grabbing the fence and controversially deducted a point from the Englishman before allowing the fight to continue.
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‘Rocky’ got the judges’ decision after impressing with his strike
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Usman thought he had won but no one in the O2 Arena agreed
After the action was halted again due to a low kick, Edwards and Usman went on strike in a round that would have been difficult to score had the referee not intervened.
Round four was another close that could have gone either way.
Edwards had success with his striking and defended takedowns well, but Usman kept him busy with his stroke and constant threat of wrestling.
The champion poured it out early in the fifth round and even landed a head kick similar to the one he knocked out Usman with when they fought at UFC 278 last August.
Usman survived the flurry and tried to get a takedown but was passed over much to the delight of fans watching UFC 286 live who cheered wildly after the trade.
The Nigerian was looking to close the distance at every opportunity he had in the final round. He survived it this time, but he didn’t do enough to salvage the 170lb webbing.
Colby Covington was caged for the main event of UFC 286 and Dana White suggested he would be Edwards’ next opponent, but the champion seems more interested in facing either Jorge Masvidal or Gilbert Burns who will fight in the UFC 287 next month.
