Britain’s Leon Edwards retained his welterweight title in entrance of his house followers as he defeated Kamru Usman through majority resolution at UFC 286 in London.
Edwards, 31, was the extra harmful striker as he blocked most of Usman’s takedown makes an attempt.
The victory over the 35-year-old Usman marked Edwards’ first title protection since defeating the Nigerian in August.
The bout on the O2 Arena was billed as the largest British MMA battle in historical past.
to avenge his 2015 defeat within the stunning Usman and will win the title in augustEdwards grew to become solely the second British UFC champion and the primary since Michael Bisping in 2016.
Edwards’ achievement prompted the UFC to host a trilogy bout and its first primary present within the UK since 2016, when Bisping defended his middleweight title in opposition to Dan Henderson in Manchester.
Following his win, the Jamaican-born Edwards opened the door to a battle with former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington, who was sitting cage-side, but additionally mentioned he was trying ahead to watching Jorge Masvidal’s battle with Gilbert Burns in April. I can journey to Miami.
“that man [Covington] Sitting outside for two years. I might take a little trip to Miami and see what’s happening there,” Edwards mentioned.
“I know it was a close fight so I knew I had to hit clean shots. He didn’t throw too many clean shots at me. He had a lot of pressure. Thanks Kamaru for being a great competitor.”
Edwards solidifies dominant welterweight standing
Edwards’ victory over Usman in August ended his dominance of the division, with the then-pound-for-pound primary happening a 14-fight UFC profitable streak that noticed a title win in 2019 adopted by 5 profitable defenses .
It was a pleasure to see Edwards for the primary time on the evening as the large display confirmed the champion arriving into the world to the theme of Eye of the Tiger – the tune synonymous with the Rocky boxing movie franchise, which impressed Edwards’ nickname.
Anticipation ran excessive all through the night with celebrities arriving in a sold-out enviornment for the historic occasion, together with snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan and actors Jared Leto, Anya Taylor-Joy and Tom Holland.
Former champion Usman did his cage-walk first and stepped contained in the octagon to loud boos from the pro-Adwords crowd.
Edwards, in black and gold shorts to depict the UFC champion, was in contrast greeted with passionate help as he high-fived followers whereas shouting “Let’s go”.
The early rounds noticed Usman transfer ahead, utilizing his jab and preventing takedowns. Edwards then started to make use of his kicks successfully because the spherical ended with a heavy physique kick.
Over the subsequent 10 minutes, Osman continued to press ahead seeking the takedown, whereas Edwards tried to flee and land kicks from a distance.
A nervous second got here for Edwards within the third spherical as he was deducted some extent by referee Herb Dean for holding onto the cage to forestall a takedown by Osman, which was greeted with disdain by the group.
With the battle heading into the fourth spherical, followers tried to encourage Edwards by chanting “Rocky” because the Birmingham fighter continued to fireplace away with kicks to the legs and physique whereas working to put on Osman’s wrestling down.
Osman continued to advance all through, however had restricted success along with his grappling – Edwards was in a position to keep on his toes within the cage on a number of events.
The pair shared a second of respect as they touched gloves at the beginning of the fifth – the thirteenth spherical they shared collectively – and whereas Usman continued to search for the takedown in opposition to a clearly tiring Edwards, So the UK gamers had been in a position to battle the bulk. Decision win.
‘London, you’ve your self an important champion’
In the win, Edwards prolonged his unbeaten run within the UFC to 12 fights, along with his final loss coming in opposition to Usman in 2015.
Edwards mentioned, “He didn’t get a takedown, I was landing clean shots, I took out his legs.”
“I couldn’t kick around his head. He had perfect defense. I was trying to kick it over the body and legs.”
As the bell rang on the finish of the battle, Osman raised his fingers believing he had gained, and he maintained this place in a post-fight interview paying tribute to Edwards.
“I think I did enough to win the fight but I knew it was close,” he mentioned.
“He had a great gameplan. I always said from the beginning that we would meet again and I didn’t. We would see each other again.”
“I’ve always given him props for everything he’s achieved. He’s like a brother to me and a lot to respect. London you’ve got yourself a great champion.”
In the co-main occasion, American Justin Gaethje earned a majority resolution win over fellow light-weight Rafael Fizziev in an entertaining bout.
With each fighters identified for his or her harmful putting, the bout was billed as a contender for the Fight of the Night and it didn’t disappoint.
After two shut rounds, the 34-year-old Gaethje started opening repeatedly within the remaining 5 minutes as a collection of jabs and uppercuts precipitated seen injury to the Azerbaijani’s Fizziev’s face.
In a post-fight interview, Gaethje steered ready on the Lightweight Title, presently held by Islam Makhachev, earlier than hinting at retirement.
With inputs from BBC
