Leon Edwards’ finish of Kamaru Usman came out of nowhere.
And because of the circumstances around Edwards’ (20-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) finish of Usman (20-2 MMA, 15-1 UFC) late in the fifth round in the UFC 278 main event, longtime UFC analyst Joe Rogan said it was the best head-kick knockout in UFC history.
“That was one of the most spectacular head-kick knockouts in the history of the sport — considering the stakes, considering the consequences,” Rogan said afterward on the pay-per-view broadcast. “I mean, it’s flawless – flawless technique. … The way he set it up with that left, Kamaru leaned to the right – perfect head kick, out cold.
“Nothing compares. It’s the greatest head-kick knockout in the history of the sport – with the most consequences, the most at stake, the most doubt, the most people counting him out, including us.”
That’s saying something, considering in 2015, Holly Holm landed a head kick on Ronda Rousey to win the women’s bantamweight title in what at the time was considered the biggest upset in UFC history.
Usman lost the welterweight belt to Edwards in Salt Lake City, and it happened with him on his way to a relatively easy decision win. Edwards won the first round, but Usman took over in the second, third and fourth, and was cruising in the fifth, too – until Edwards landed a left kick and put Usman out cold. Usman was close to a 4-1 betting favorite in their fight, which was a rematch of a fight Usman won in 2015.
Rogan and his fellow broadcasters, Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier, already had written Edwards off in the fight. Cormier said multiple times after the knockout that the broadcast team already had written Edwards’ eulogy.
“It was like a movie,” Rogan said. “We were counting him out. We were thinking he was going to lose a decision. Kamaru Usman was dominating. He was controlling the rounds.”
Usman came into the fight with the second most consecutive wins in UFC history with 15 and was chasing Anderson Silva’s record of 16. He defended the welterweight title five times and looked like he was on the way to No. 6.
Coincidentally, Usman holds the record for the latest finish in UFC welterweight history when he stopped Colby Covington at the 4:10 mark of the fifth round at UFC 245. Edwards came close to eclipsing that record against Usman with a finish at the 4:04 mark.
Anik, on the ESPN+ post fight show, said he thinks Edwards’ win was the single greatest victory in UFC history when all the accolades for Usman are factored in.
