Leon Edwards Saved the Welterweight Division

 LEON EDWARDS SENDS KAMARU USMAN TO THE SHADOW REALM 🔥


    In the main event of UFC 278, the combat sports world witnessed one of the most spectacular comeback knockouts in a championship fight since the inception of the UFC. 

    Leon "Rocky" Edwards def. #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC Kamaru Usman via 5th round headkick to become the undisputed welterweight champion of the world and the second ever champion to reside from the UK.

    This win was extremely significant for several different reasons, but ultimately changes the landscape of the entire UFC for the next year. Usman was entering his 6th title defense against Edwards at UFC 278, with many pundits giving Edwards a small chance to pull off the upset.

    Usman was in the middle of an incredible run in the UFC, a 15-0 record which was 1 shy of Anderson Silva's record. He also went into many media sessions claiming that he had "lapped the division" and was looking ahead to possibly moving up TWO divisions and challenging for the light heavyweight belt.

    The fight at 278 was going Usman's way as all three scorecards had him winning 3 rounds to 1 going into the 5th round, using his nonstop pressure and takedowns to stifle Rocky's superior striking. That was until the greatest headkick knockout of all time took place and spun the world on its axis. 

    This moment for Edwards caps off an unprecedented journey to the title, with several cancelled bouts in 2020 and 2021 and 1 fight ending in a no contest due to an unintentional eye poke. Yet, his nine fight unbeaten streak since his loss to Usman in 2015 was enough to secure him a shot to get a rematch... and boy did he take advantage of it.

 

I would've never thought in my time watching this sport that I would see Kamaru Usman out cold on the canvas, but it happened and it happened more brutally than anyone could've ever anticipated.


I mean his eyes were fully open.... that is crazy. 




    Now we enter a new era of the welterweight division with multiple new matchups to be possibly made for the title including the Edwards vs Usman trilogy to be rumoured to take place in Rocky's home country of England. 

    Every other contender for the title including Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal, and the up and coming phenom Khamzat Chimaev now have a much better opportunity to get another fight for the title. 

    If we learned anything this weekend, it would be that the sport of mixed martial arts is the craziest and most unpredictable sport in the world, and I can't wait to see what happens next. 

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