UFC 278 Results: Leon Edwards ends the title reign of Kamaru Usman

UFC 278: USMAN vs. EDWARDS 2 aired live in Asia on Sunday, August 21 from the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Leon Edwards pulls off a shocker

In the opening round of their rematch, No. 2 contender Leon Edwards unexpectedly mounted UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman. The champion was able to set up a takedown at the conclusion of round two thanks to Edwards' outstanding wrestling counters, which forced Usman to stand and bang with him. From that point on, the momentum went to Usman, who maintained it until the very last second of the fight. Then, with one minute remaining in the match, Edwards timed a fantastic walk-off KO head kick to knock Usman out.

"I can't put it in words. You all doubted me, and said I couldn't do it. Look at me now! Number one pound-for-pound headshot! I come from the trenches. I'm built for this. I'll go until it's done. Look at me now! I told you we can win a bout from the UK. Look at me now! I did it for you, mum, I told you I'd change our life! Look at me now!,” Edwards noted after the win.

Paulo Costa outclasses Luke Rockhold

With flurrying punches, a takedown, and ground dominance in the opening round, No. 6 ranked middleweight Paulo Costa gave former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold a difficult welcome back to the Octagon.

In the second round, Rockhold surged out of the corner and displayed his kicks, but Costa persisted in applying pressure, and the fight continued into the third round as a gruelling battle.

"The energy that came from this audience was amazing because the last time I fought in front of people was in 2019. This was a war. It was a very good fight as well. He surprised me with a lot of good shots. People say he doesn't have a good chin, but he does,” Costa said in the post-fight interview.

Aoriqileng from China won a majority decision over Jay Perrin in his bantamweight debut. Aoriqileng demonstrated great takedown defence in testy situations while battering his opponent with strong counterpunches while exercising deliberate patience.

UFC 278 OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Fight Of The Night: Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold
• Performance Of The Night: Leon Edwards
• Performance Of The Night: Victor Altamirano
• Gross Total Revenue: $1,735,904.91 (Announced Live Gate)
• Attendance: 18,321 (sold out)
• 23 consecutive sell-outs with full capacity
• Vivint Arena live event gate record

UFC WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

• Leon Edwards defeats Kamaru Usman by KO (left high kick) at 4:04 of Round 5

CO-MAIN EVENT

• Paulo Costa defeats Luke Rockhold by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

MAIN CARD

• Merab Dvalishvili defeats José Aldo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Lucie Pudilova defeats Wu Yanan by TKO (elbows) at 4:04 of Round 2
• Tyson Pedro defeats Harry Hunsucker by TKO (strikes) at 1:05 of Round 1

PRELIMS

• Marcin Tybura defeats Alexandr Romanov by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
• Jared Gordon defeats Leonardo Santos by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Sean Woodson and Luis Saldana fight to a split draw (29-27, 27-29, 28-28)
• Ange Loosa defeats AJ Fletcher by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Amir Albazi defeats Francisco Figueiredo by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:34 of Round 1
• Aoriqileng defeats Jay Perrin by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Victor Altamirano defeats Daniel Da Silva by TKO (strikes) at 3:39 of Round 1

What do you think of the results? Let us know in the comment section below.

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