UFC 278 was high voltage, hair raising, mind breaking, and earthquake making, action from start to finish. We have a new UK King, for the first time since Michael Bisping and a very well deserved retirement, as well for an old friend. Let RDX help you navigate and make your own choices on UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2.
Kamaru Usman Vs Leon Edwards 2
What a grand fight between two of the veterans of the UFC. Seeing as both fighters have more than 15 fights with the UFC and are extremely experienced. On Saturday we witnessed a bout that can easily be argued to go down in history as one of the biggest upsets in the UFC ever.
The Rounds
Round 1 was Leon’s round on points. He came out swinging with accurate punches and great kicks to the body of the Champion Kamaru Usman. He furthered that lead by being the first ever to take down the Nigerian Nightmare to the ground with full control. Then attempted a rear-naked choke that didn’t stick but had the P4P frantically fighting the choke hand with little success till the buzzer.
Usman was dominating, from getting takedowns to controlling the pace and getting powerful shots to stagger Edwards. You could see Edwards slowly fall into the lull of Usman’s dance. From the traps that led to takedowns. To breaking free of Usman’s control. Only to be met by a combination onslaught from the Nigerian Nightmare.
Each of these rounds Kamaru won on points. With more significant strikes in both quantity and accuracy. The sheer pressure that Kamaru kept putting on Leon was suffocating on a mental level. Not giving him enough time to plan or set up combinations. Kamaru seemed extremely focused, finding flaws and weaknesses in Leon’s confidence. Although Leon wasn’t folding under pressure like the commentators would have you believe, he fairly fought every takedown attempt and would successfully thwart them. His strikes never lost their sniping precision. It was just about when Leon would catch Kamaru not being focused or slipping just a little.
The Controversy
There were a few moments in these rounds where the Champ, Kamaru Usman also took some timeouts that looked a bit odd when seen camera. There was an alleged eye poke in round 2 that led to a minute timeout. On camera it doesn’t look close though it may just have been the angle for referee Herb Dean’s perspective. Then again in round 3 Herb Dean sees Edwards grab the gloves of Kamaru and gives him a warning. Round 4 also saw Kamaru dragging out a wrestling exchange where he had control over Usman but wasn’t utilizing it. Hence Herb restarted the exchange from the center. Round 5 saw Kamaru complain about a low kick from Edwards that was clearly above the belt. However, a timeout was called. Both fighters got a second to breathe despite no actual foul.
The KO
The odds seemed to be stacked against Leon. Commentators and fans alike had begun counting him out. Many such as Daniel Cormier even said that “they had written his obituary” and he came out of round 4 almost blocked mentally and physically exhausted. But despite all odds in the 4th minute (56s remaining) of the last round Rocky Edwards faked a one-two combo and launched a leg kick. Usman over-reacted and ducked to his right into that leg, and the kick from Edwards landed perfectly to the side of his face. The Nightmare had ended for Edwards, and the Championship Dream had just begun.
Paulo Costa Vs Luke Rockhold
In what may be one of the most epic retirement bouts in this year. (Others like; Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Jessica Eye, Uriah Hall, Nina Nunes). Luke Rockhold throws it all in the ring and shows why he’s one of the most respected fighters in the UFC. Luke showcased unlimited willpower and unparalleled courage in the face of an extremely resilient Paulo Costa. Paulo in the meantime displayed an immaculate resilience and endurance to damage.
Paulo had shown it before against Yoel Romero but this time was different. He further took all of Luke’s best hits without once seeming like it phased or broke his pressure. Multiple hard hitting liver shot kicks didn’t slow or weaken The Eraser. Meanwhile Luke looked spent, his stamina and his legs were not supporting his will. But in round 3 Luke made a final ditch effort and threw himself onto Costa, getting a superb takedown. After which, in a gory, disturbing turn of events. Luke proceeded to let his bloodied nose bleed on a victoriously laughing Paulo Costa who went on to win. A brilliantly disgusting act of resilience from a fighter that wanted to do more but knew he was getting too old to fight.
Jose Aldo V Merab Dvalishvili
Aldo versus Merab was a brilliant display by The Georgian Machine who has been an absolute mauler in his last seven fights getting consecutive wins. On the other hand the support for Jose was huge, the crowd sounded a din in Vivint Arena. Merab kept attempting takedowns throughout the bout which had a lot of fans complaining about his style being replicative of the Legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, in the post fight interview he made it clear that the styles are only similar because they are from similar regions only separated by a mountain short range.
The fight seemed pretty favored to Dvalishvili who kept exploding with pressure against Jose. Furthermore many fighters expected more from the very well respected Jose Aldo who simply didn’t fight on the same championship level were used to seeing from him. Both fighters had a huge amount of respect for each other as well after the fight. They sat down together and exchanged a word in the center of the Octagon.
RDX was extremely surprised and impressed by the fights that took place this weekend at UFC 278: Usman Vs Edwards 2. The title fight is the reason why this sport of mixed martial arts is so unpredictable and exhilarating. RDX Sports congratulates and commends the new Welterweight Champion for the amazing success of his sniper head kick and we are very excited to see a new “Rocky” era in the weight class.
