Tonight during the UFC Vegas 67 post-fight press conference, Dana White made a number of announcements regarding some upcoming fights. One fight that he confirmed was finalized is a fight that we figured was imminent, but rumors had been swirling that it wasn’t a done deal.
Welterweight champion Leon Edwards (20-3, 1 NC) will be returning to his home of London, England for UFC 286 as he takes on rival and former champion Kamaru Usman (20-2) for the third time. Justin Gaethje – Rafael Fiziev will serve as the co-main event.
Edwards and Usman fought for the title back in August at UFC 278. In the first round, Edwards shocked everyone when he landed a takedown on the champion. He would go on to dominate the first round. However, from there Kamaru Usman took over and controlled the second through the fourth round.
UFC 286
Before the fifth round, Edwards’ corner begged him to get fired up knowing he needed a knockout to win. Through almost four minutes, Usman was in control. Then, Edwards landed the kick heard round the world when he knocked out the pound-for-pound king to become UFC champion.
Now, they will run things back for a third time. Usman dominated the first fight. He looked to be in control of the second fight until the massive headkick from Edwards. My assumption is that Edwards will be the betting underdog despite being at home and the defending UFC champion.