Leon Edwards had the last laugh in his rivalry with Kamaru Usman as he edged their trilogy fight to successfully defend his welterweight title at UFC 286 in London.
Edwards was looking to make the first defence of his welterweight title since winning it against Usman with a last-gasp knockout last August. The London crowd flooded out The O2 arena with chants of “Headshot, dead” in support of the home fighter as the trilogy bout got underway.
Both men were tentative in the opening round but it was Edwards who landed heavy first, hurting Usman with a body kick but he did well to recover moments later. Edwards was putting together his combinations well, but the Brit was warned by referee Herb Dean to not grab the inside of Usman’s glove.
