Leon Edwards Stuns Kamaru Usman To Win UFC Welterweight Title

SALT LAKE CITY – Leon Edwards defeated Kamaru Usman to win the UFC Welterweight title at UFC 278 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.

It was a comeback victory for Leon Edwards as Kamaru Usman was on the verge of history and looking for his sixth straight title defense.

Here is a recap of the night at Vivint Arena.

Early Prelim Bouts

Flyweight: Daniel Da Silva vs. Victor Altamirano

Result: Victor Altamirano (TKO in Round 1)

Recap: A great bout to kick the card off with. Both fighters wanted to keep the fight standing and exchanged punches through the first two minutes of the bout. Altamirano landed a knee to Da Silva’s head that put him on the canvas and the ground and pound began for Altamirano. The referee stopped the fight at 3:39 of the first round.

What a finish for 𝑬𝒍 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒐 👏

[ @Vic__Altamirano | #UFC278 Early Prelims are LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/zJ0CwV1xtl

— UFC (@ufc) August 20, 2022

Bantamweight: Aoriqileng vs. Jay Perrin

Result: Aoriqileng (Unanimous Decision)

Recap: Not a ton of action compared to the first fight of the night. Perrin’s game was working the fight to the ground and using his wrestling. The bout was mainly up against the cage and on the ground. They gave the fans a show at the end of the third round by exchanging punches for the last 15 seconds.

Ended the fight SWINGING 💥 #UFC278 pic.twitter.com/72vIUd0940

— UFC (@ufc) August 20, 2022

Flyweight: #11 Amir Albazi vs. Francisco Figueiredo

Result: Albazi (Submission, 4:34 in Round 1)

Recap: Albazi showed why he is rising up the flyweight division. He didn’t seem to have too much trouble dealing with Francisco Figueiredo. Albazi finished the fight with a rear naked choke.

Still undefeated! @AmirAlbazi gets the 1st round submission #UFC278 pic.twitter.com/LNq5dn1cgQ

— UFC (@ufc) August 20, 2022

Prelim Bouts

Welterweight: AJ Feltcher vs. Ange Loosa

Result: Ange Loosa (Unanimous Decision)

Recap: A very entertaining fight. Loosa used his right hand early in the fight and had success and might’ve broken Fletcher’s nose. In the second round, Fletcher stormed back and nearly ended the fight after landing many punches on Loosa. In the third round, Loosa took the fight to the ground and secured the win.

That second round 🤯

[ #UFC278 Prelims LIVE on @ABCNetwork ] pic.twitter.com/XAqWFPZEDK

— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2022

Featherweight: Sean Woodson vs. Luis Saldana

Result: Split Draw

Recap: Saldana was baiting Woodson for most of the first round. With under two minutes remaining in the opening round, Saldana was deducted one point for an illegal knee to the head of Woodson. After the deduction, Saldana wasn’t as aggressive in the fight. Woodson tried a buggy choke in the second round but Saldana didn’t tap.

After 15 minutes this bout ends in a split draw.

[#UFC278 | @ABCNetwork ] pic.twitter.com/EbMee4dsqh

— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2022

Lightweight: Leonardo Santos vs. Jared Gordon

Result: Jared Gordon (Unanimous Decision)

Recap: Not a lot of action in this fight. Probably the least amount of action to this point in the card.

Heavyweight: #11 Marcin Tybura vs. #13 Alexandr Romanov

Result: Marcin Tybura (Split Decision)

Recap: Romanov had two huge takedowns where he picked up Tybura and threw him to the canvas. Tybura bounced back in the second round with some nice punches and was able to get Romanov to the ground. The two stayed standing for all of the third round and exchanged punches towards the end.

HEAVYWEIGHT SLAM 💥

Stream #UFC278 tonight on @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/pxRev9nc4A pic.twitter.com/PxvAbhNp7h

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 21, 2022

Main Card

Light Heavyweight: Tyson Pedro vs. Harry Hunsucker

Result: Tyson Pedro (TKO in Round 1)

Recap: A great way to kick off the pay-per-view card as the two were feeling out the fight when it looked like Hunsucker got poked in the eye but kept fighting. Pedro caught Hunsucker with a couple of good shots and the fight was called 1:05 into the first round.

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!!!

What a FLAWLESS performance by @Tyson_Pedro_!

[ #UFC278 | Main Card LIVE on ESPN+ PPV https://t.co/1eqEqfIztO ] pic.twitter.com/E9UQOEqoDI

— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2022

Women’s Bantamweight: Wu Yanan vs. Lucie Pudilova

Result: Lucie Pudilova (TKO in Round 2)

Recap: Pudilova had the upper hand in the first round as she took the fight to the ground and was in full control. She took control once again in the second round and was able to get the TKO finish.

What a ferocious finish 😤@Lucie_Pudilova gets the finish in round 2!

[ #UFC278 | Main Card LIVE NOW on ESPN+ PPV https://t.co/1eqEqfIztO ] pic.twitter.com/Vb1REefuh8

— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2022

Bantamweight: #3 Jose Aldo vs. #6 Merab Dvalishvili

Result: Merab Dvalishvili (Unanimous Decision)

Recap: Not much happened in the first round other than the feeling-out process. Aldo did get a couple of good punches in towards the end of the opening round. Dvalishvili took Aldo to the cage early in the second round and stayed in the clinch for a good minute and change. Aldo went up against the cage three more times in the round but not much damage was done. In the third round, control went the way of Dvalishvili. He attempted many takedowns and kept getting Aldo up against the cage.

🗣 BY UNANIMOUS DECISION!!

Make that 7 straight victories for @MerabDvalishvil! #UFC278 pic.twitter.com/Yek3JhiCBt

— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2022

Middleweight: #6 Paulo Costa vs. Luke Rockhold

Result: Paulo Costa (Unanimous Decision)

Recap: The first round was controlled mostly by Costa as he put Rockhold against the cage. But Rockhold held his own in the opening round with nice body kicks. Rockhold had a nice roundhouse kick in the second round that amazed the crowd at Vivint Arena. It was a tough second round for Rockhold as he was gassed. Costa landed some big kicks and punches but also had an illegal hit on Rockhold. The third round was entertaining as each fighter exchanged big punches and kicks.

The final ride for the former champ – congratulations @LukeRockhold on an incredible career 👏 #UFC278 pic.twitter.com/BlmuRmmlYf

— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2022

Welterweight Title: Champion Kamaru Usman vs. #2 Leon Edwards

Result:

Recap: In the first round, Leon Edwards did something that no other fighter has ever done against Usman and that is taking the champ down to the canvas. It appeared that Usman won the second round after landing some significant strikes and had a couple of takedowns. The third round was mainly spent on the ground with Usman in control. It was much of the same in the fourth round until the last 15 seconds of the fight when the two exchanged punches. In the final round, Leon Edwards needed a knockout and he did just that with a left kick to the side of the Usman’s head and the former champ went down and out.

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