Khamzat Chimaev as a potential rival is already a question Kamaru Usman is getting. In order to compete for that title, he has discussed the idea of going up two weight classes to light heavyweight. Usman should be included in discussions of the greatest fighters ever, according to UFC president Dana White.
Usman must complete his task before any of these possibly momentous events can happen. The main event of UFC 278 at Vivint Arena will feature the welterweight champion of MMA defending his championship against Leon Edwards.
Usman is currently regarded as the top welterweight in the world . No. 4 is Edwards. In their previous encounter, which was unanimously decided in December 2015, Edwards suffered his most recent defeat.
The MMA community has been stunned by Leon Edwards.
In the main event of UFC 278 on Saturday night at Vivint Arena, Edwards knocked out Kamaru Usman with a head kick in the last round of a contest he was comfortably losing.
At 4 minutes and 4 seconds into the fifth round, the contest was over. Usman was regarded as the world’s top boxer on a per-pound basis.
Usman’s 15-fight winning streak in the UFC was broken by Edwards, which was just one short of Anderson Silva’s UFC record. One of the most breathtaking knockouts in sports history occurred.
After the first round, Usman got the upper hand in the fight. However, toward the end of the fifth, Usman went to his right to block an Edwards left, and Edwards caught him flush with a left head kick, whipping the crowd of over 17,000 into a frenzy. Usman was less than a minute away from making his sixth title defence when he was declared out on contact.
The Salt Lake City crowd began the night by chanting “Usman” then switched to “Rocky,” Edwards’ stage moniker.
Usman was ranked one overall and first at welterweight on their ranking of fighters based on weight. At welterweight, Edwards held the No. 4 spot. This was a rematch of their bout from December 2015, which Usman prevailed in via unanimous decision.
For almost seven years, Edwards (20-3, 1 NC) has fought without losing in a row. Since that 2015 fight with Usman, the Jamaican-born English resident has been victorious every time. The UFC record of Edwards, 30 years old, is 12-2 (1 NC).
Before his defeat on Saturday, Usman (20-2) had made five championship defences. Following his victory against Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 in March 2019, the Colorado-based fighter with Nigerian ancestry had held the title of UFC welterweight champion.