Examine again in on this put up afterward to see who received the UFC 286 co-main occasion, which goes down from the O2 Area in London, England.
This put up will cowl tonight’s UFC’s welterweight title combat between the champion, Leon Edwards and the previous champ, Kamaru Usman.
Actually, Edwards scoring that miraculous come from behind head kick knockout to take the belt from Usman of their rematch was one the best MMA moments of all time. What’s fascinating to see is how every man will reply to what occurred that fateful evening at UFC 278 again in August of final yr.
Edwards has all the instruments to beat anybody on any given day, and now he is aware of it. This newfound confidence that ‘Rocky’ has been showcasing might very properly translate into somebody who’s extra keen to tug the set off extra typically inside the Octagon. I can’t show this, however confidence would possibly go additional in combating than in another sport. This could possibly be the beginning of the Leon Edwards period, however then once more, one onerous spherical on his again might additionally zap each ounce of that swagger.
Chins can’t come again higher after a knockout loss, however fighters can. Usman made one massive ass mistake when he was lower than a minute from defeating Leon for the second time. With out that lone lapse in protection, we wouldn’t be having this trilogy bout in England.
Talent-wise it doesn’t really feel like Kamaru has a bunch of issues that he wants to repair so as beat Edwards, however how risk-adverse is he going to be? There have been a number of moments within the second combat the place Usman was tee’ing off with reckless boxing combos. Is that very same kind of aggression on the toes going to be there tonight, or is Usman going to attempt to put much more emphasis on his grappling? I’m positively excited to search out out!
The early prelims start at an additional begin time of 12:30pm ET/9:30am, PT, instantly adopted by the common preliminary card. Each broadcasts will be streamed on ESPN+. The PPV most important card is slated for five:00pm ET/2:00pm PT, and will be bought on ESPN+.
Leon Edwards def. Kamaru Usman by majority choice (48-46 x2, 47-47): Welterweight Title
Edwards regarded mild on his toes to get issues going. Usman was slowly urgent ahead, whereas Leon was utilizing his footwork to keep up distance. The majority of the amount got here from the champ, with Kamaru’s output was on the decrease facet. Leon was cracking liver kicks from his southpaw stance, growing Usman’s urgency to grapple. The referee known as timeout to warn Edwards about sticking his fingers within the gloves of Usman, after which the match was restarted within the middle.
We obtained an unintentional cup verify inside the first minute of the second spherical, bringing about one other temporary pause. Edwards went again to the physique kick, and Usman simply wasn’t seeing it. In an change, a giant knee from Edwards briefly staggered Usman. The previous champ responded with a pleasant proper of his personal, adopted by his first profitable takedown. Rocky was fast to stand up, simply to botch a takedown of his personal. again in open house, Edwards continued to dump his quantity from vary.
Usman blasted an early takedown within the third spherical, after which Edwards tried to get again to his toes by grabbing a handful of fence. The ref was throughout it and deducted one level from Leon for the infraction. The match resumed in open house, and the fighters traded stiff jabs. Usman was urgent ahead, and Edwards related with one other kick to the cup. The fouls have been beginning to add up. After a brief break, Edwards returned to his physique kick to try to again off his aggressor. He was additionally peppering the legs, with only a few being checked.
Usman was urgent behind his boxing within the fourth spherical. Edwards managed to kick out the legs from underneath Kamaru, however did not hold him on the bottom for greater than a second. Then Usman then began to wrestle, however he wasn’t capable of hold Edwards down for greater than a second. Each males have been merely refusing to concede the underside place.
Edwards went for his head kick within the opening sequence of the ultimate spherical, however Usman was prepared for it. Kamaru tried to wrestle once more, however once more was denied. The champion began to let his strikes go once more, tagging Usman with extra kicks to the legs and physique. Once more Usman tried to wrestle, and once more Leon shut him down.
Concerning the writer: Eddie Mercado has lined fight sports activities since 2015. He covers every little thing from betting odds to dwell occasions and fighter interviews. He holds a 1-0 document in professional MMA and holds a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu. (full bio)
