UFC 286: Welterweight Champ Leon Edwards Settles Trilogy With Majority Decision Win Over Kamaru Usman

• Leon Edwards defeated Kamaru Usman in their trilogy fight on Saturday night
• Edwards won via majority decision to retain the UFC welterweight championship
• The fight was held at the O2 Arena, making this the biggest UFC event on British soil

Leon Edwards showed his win last August was no fluke.

The reigning UFC welterweight champion delighted his home fans at UFC 286, beating Kamaru Usman via majority decision in front of a packed crowd at the O2 Arena on Saturday night.

Edwards settled the trilogy with the victory, posting a 2-1 head-to-head record against Usman.

How was the fight scored?

Two judges scored the fight 48-46 in favor of Edwards, while the other ruled the contest as a 47-47 draw, per ESPN.

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Edwards grabbed the win despite being penalized a point in the third round for holding the e while defending a takedown.

Edwards and Usman entered the Octagon with their feud knotted at 1-1. Usman took a unanimous decision win back in December 2015 before Edwards exacted revenge with a stunning fifth-round knockout victory in August 2022.

Edwards impresses in title defense

Saturday’s fight was a much different contest from seven months ago. Edwards needed a Hail Mary head kick against Usman late in the fifth round back in August to steal the win in a fight he was clearly losing.

This time around, Edwards was the clear aggressor. According to UFC Stats, the defending champ outlanded Usman 123-113 in total strikes. He also defended 11 of Usman’s 15 takedown attempts.

Even when the “Nigerian Nightmare” managed to get Edwards to the mat, Usman failed to keep him down or generate significant strikes in that position.

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The former welterweight title holder was credited with just five minutes of control time in the trilogy fight, half of what Usman accumulated back in August.

Usman still felt he'd won the fight but did not argue over the result. He paid tribute to Edwards, telling the London fans that they have got themselves “a great champion and a hell of a guy.”

UFC's greatest trilogies

Sports Brief recently reported on the greatest trilogies in UFC history.

The trilogy between UFC legends Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture topped the list.

Their trilogy was the first one in UFC history in which all three fights became pay-per-view headliners.