Leon Edwards shocked the world. Edwards’ “Rocky” story came to life in the closing stages of Round 5 of his main event at UFC 278 on Saturday night with a comeback head-kick him knockout.
After becoming the first person to score a takedown on the near-perfect champion in Round 1, Edwards struggled to build any kind of momentum in the next round. Usman took over the fight with a combination of excellent wrestling and hard-hitting boxing, nearly always coming close to Anderson Silva’s record, and seemed on the road to yet another title defense.
Usman’s pace slowed in round 5, but Edwards appeared to be defeated in his corner as the team begged him to come alive in the final round, leading to a unanimous decision victory for the champions. There is a nature.
Suddenly, Edwards landed a right jab and fired a left head kick to knock Usman out at 4:04 in the fifth round.
Not enough boxing and MMA? Get the latest in the world of combat sports from two of his best in the business. Subscribe to Morning Combat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell For the best analysis and in-depth news, including an instant analysis of UFC 278 below.
“Pound for pound. Headshot. Dead,” Edwards told UFC commentator Joe Rogan in a post-fight interview. Everything that has happened in the past has been a pandemic for the past two years.No ring rust.I told you, look at me now.”
Edwards improved to 20-3 (1 NC) with a win over Usman. His undefeated streak improved to his eleven. Usman saw his 19-fight winning streak come to an end as he suffered his first defeat in nine years.
It was the fourth newest finish in a championship fight, just seconds behind Asman’s own finish at Colby Covington in 2019.
Usman was optimistic about his future. The former champion posted on Twitter, vowing revenge.
UFC President Dana White insisted on a trilogy during the post-fight press conference with the media. White suggested Wembley Arena as the venue and expressed a desire to see the rubber match in England.
“I thought Usman put up a perfect fight,” White said. “Think of everything that was prepared for Usman tonight. Usman fought with absolute and complete confidence all night. It may not be the most fan-friendly style. But he hit big shots to the body, he hit big shots to the head and he couldn’t have put up a more perfect fight until the very end.”
CBS Sports was with you all Saturday, so we bring you all the results and highlights from UFC 278 below.
UFC 278 cards and results
- Leon Edwards (c) def. Kamal Usman 5th round knockout (head kick)
- Paulo Costa def.Luke Rockhold Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Merab Dvalishvili def. Jose Aldo Unanimous decisions (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Lucy Pudirois diff. Wu Yanan wins by 2nd round TKO (elbow)
- Tyson Pedro Def.Harry Hunsuck wins by his first-round TKO (punch)
- Marcin Tibura’s diff. Alexander Romanov (29-28, 28-29, 28-28) by majority vote
- Jared Gordon Def. Leonardo Santos decided unanimously (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Shawn Woodson vs. Luis Saldana dominated a split draw (29-27, 27-29, 28-28).
- Ange Russa diff. AJ Fletcher unanimous decisions (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Amir Albajidev.Francisco Figueiredo via his 1st round submission (rear naked choke)
- Aori Kirendev. Jay Perrin unanimous (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Victor Altamirano Def. Daniel da Silva wins by first round TKO (punch)
