It’s been nearly seven years since [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] tasted defeat.
It just so happens, though, that his most recent loss came to [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] in Usman’s first fight after winning Season 21 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Usman won seven more fights after that, then took the welterweight title. He’s defended it five times since then.
Edwards has won nine straight since his loss to Usman, and he’s had some pretty killer names on his resume, including Nate Diaz, former lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos, Donald Cerrone and Vicente Luque. It’s been a long climb to get another fight with Usman, but it’s hard to deny Edwards has put in the work.
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Next month, Edwards (19-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) gets his rematch with Usman (20-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) in the UFC 278 main event at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. The Aug. 20 main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
Thursday, the UFC released the official poster for the event, which features Usman with his belt face to face with challenger Edwards. Check out the artwork below from the UFC Instagram account.
The current UFC 278 lineup includes:
- Champ Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards – for welterweight title
- Paulo Costa vs. Luke Rockhold
- Aori Qileng vs. Jay Perrin
- Victor Altamirano vs. Daniel Da Silva
- Luis Saldana vs. Sean Woodson
- Harry Hunsucker vs. Tyson Pedro
- Miranda Maverick vs. Shanna Young
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 278.
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
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