At UFC 286 in London, British fighter Leon Edwards successfully defended his welterweight championship in front of his local crowd by decisively defeating Kamaru Usman.
The bulk of Usman’s takedown attempts were blocked by Edwards, 31, who throughout the match was the more dangerous striker.
With the victory over Usman, Edwards successfully defends his championship for the first time since defeating the Nigerian in August.
The O2 Arena battle was promoted as the biggest Mixed Martial Arts, MMA match in British history. Edwards became only the second British UFC champion and the first since Michael Bisping in 2016 when he shocked Usman to claim the title and exact revenge for a loss from 2015.
Due to Edwards’ success, the UFC decided to hold a trilogy fight and its first numbered event in the United Kingdom since Bisping’s middleweight championship defence against Dan Henderson in Manchester in 2016.
After winning, Jamaican-born Edwards said he might fly to Miami in April to watch Jorge Masvidal vs. Gilbert Burns, but he also said he was open to a fight with former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington, who was sitting cageside.
“That man [Covington] has sat out for two years. I might take a little trip to Miami and see what’s going on there,” said Edwards.
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