Leon Edwards has defended his welterweight title with a hard-fought points victory Kamaru Usman bee UFC 286 in London.
In his homecoming title defense at the O2 Arena, the Birmingham fighter went the distance with the former champion and sealed a majority decision on the judges’ scorecards.
Edwards shocked the world with his stunning knockout win over ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ last August, producing a devastating header in the last minute after falling short of the scorecards to take the title.
It was Usman’s first defeat in nearly a decade after reigning for four years as the pound-for-pound best with 170 pounds and coming to the capital determined to take back what he considers rightfully his.
But Edwards underlined his status as the new welterweight king with a championship performance on Saturday night.
In a thrilling opening round, a focused and calm Edwards landed the first shot of real significance, breaking through with a stabbing leg kick that briefly made Usman nod.
Both men landed midway through a blistering second round with Edwards’ speed advantage and saw him enjoy the better exchanges.
Usman appeared to score with an early takedown in the third, with Edwards finding a way out. Referee Herb Dean, however, deducted a point from the champion for holding on to the cage to allow him to escape.
Another brief stoppage followed with Usman on the receiving end of an accidental shot below the beltline.
In a tight final round, Edwards scored with a kick similar to Usman’s six months ago, as the challenger held on this time.
Edwards continued to land those chopping leg kicks as he attempted to lay down the big finish as both men kept up the pace – with the roof of the O2 Arena as Edwards’ name was declared the winner.
In the main support fight, Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev shared a bruising lightweight fight with the American taking a majority decision after leaving his opponent a bloody mess in the third and final round.
Marin Vettori opened the main card with a controversial unanimous decision victory over Roman Dolidze, a decision that was met with huge boos around 02.
Jennifer Maia defeated Casey O’Neil in their flyweight bout and also secured a scorecard win as the Australian suffered her first career loss.
The ever-popular Gunnar Nelson, meanwhile, got the job done in the first round, sending Barbrena through an armbar.
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