UFC 286 Preview (Edwards vs. Usman 3)
UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards and former champion Kamaru Usman are set to complete a trilogy fight for the ages on Saturday March 18 at the O2 Arena in London. At UFC 286, Edwards will be defending the title for the first time since shocking the world in his last fight with a fifth-round head kick knockout victory over Usman at UFC 278 last August.
Usman went into the rematch having had a dominant victory over Edwards in their first fight seven years prior, and was cruising to a decision victory before being caught by Edwards for one of the best knockouts of 2022. The questions heading into the fight on Saturday are how will Usman rebound from his first time being knocked out and will Edwards fight with more urgency earlier in the fight?
Edwards (20-3-1) has not lost since the first fight with Usman in 2015. His first title defense will come in front of a passionate hometown crowd in England. Will this be an advantage or disadvantage? Edwards answered that question emphatically.
“This time around it will be a totally different fight,” Edwards told BT Sport. “I’ve never lost in the U.K. I’ve never lost at UFC London. … Pro and amateur. So, I’m taking that confidence into it. I’m taking the confidence of knowing I can knock him out into it. I’m taking the confidence of knowing I can take him down into it. I’m taking the confidence of knowing that once it hits the mat and I’m on top, I’m way better. Just all taking into it. My heritage, my story, it’s all going into it. I just can’t see how he comes over and beats me.”
The champion believes he won the title despite not having a great performance until pulling out the comeback victory. “To beat the pound-for-pound on your worst night, I think that’s one of my worst performances as far as career-wise goes in the UFC,” Edwards said. “To be able to still stay calm under that going into the fifth round and to get the KO, I think that shows character from me. That shows my mental I.Q. for the fight game, as far as knowing when to land that shot.
“I think taking all that into the fight, it’s going to be a good night for me. I know he’s tough, I know he’s good – I’m not deluded. I know he’s a good fighter, but I truly believe that I’m better and I can’t see how he comes over and beat me in London.”
The 31-year-old thinks he has a different mindset heading into a third fight with the former champion. “Our mentalities are in two different places,” Edwards said at Wednesday’s UFC 286 media day. “I feel like he’s on his way out, and I was going to open the door for him – give him another path to follow his fashion dreams and follow wherever he wants to go.
“I think he’s already got one – something’s out the door and I was going to add to that. Whether he retires after or not, it’s up to him.”
It has been made clear to both Edwards and Usman that Edwards was on his way to losing the last fight before he scored the knockout. The champion only cares about results not could have been’s. “I know Kamaru – he’s using that as, ‘Oh yeah, he was tired in the fight.’ Whether I was tired or not, you got knocked out – and that’s it,” Edwards said. “So at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
“Even though I was tired, he couldn’t hurt me. I wasn’t hurt, really – it was more a fatigue issue. He was wailing at my gloves and I was catching it all on my gloves. Even on my worst day, I defeated him. He’s improved from when we’ve first fought, but so have I.”
If Edwards can win the rubber match with Usman, he will put the rivalry behind him and there are plenty of interesting challenges waiting for him at the top of the welterweight division. Despite being behind on the scorecards in their last fight, Edwards and Usman looked evenly matched. For Edwards, he became the first fighter to take Usman down in the octagon, even though Usman is known as the better wrestler. How will Edwards approach the grappling on Saturday? Will he again try to shock Usman by wrestling or will he put together another signature combination to finish the fight again?
Usman was on a 15-fight winning streak in the UFC heading into the last fight with Edwards and his only other loss came all the way back in 2013. The Nigerian defended the welterweight title five times and before losing last August he was gaining consideration for being the greatest welterweight in UFC history.
The 35-year-old believes he is the better fighter and he must prove it on Saturday. “It’s going to be a little more difficult this time,” Usman said on the Pivot Podcast. “In his head, he forgot what happened four rounds before that. He’s like, ‘I landed the kick, I’m the champ! I’m good.’ But he forgot what happened.
“You forgot that I was taking your soul. So I have to remind him who he is: a guy that’s let somebody take your soul, twice. And I’m gonna take it in London.”
The former champion is enjoying being the challenger this time around and has moved on from the last fight with Edwards. “On the ride to the hospital that night, I was already over it,” Usman said. “When you feel that sense of relief, it’s just like all the expectations, all the this, and all of this ... You just hear it all quiet down.
“It makes the sport fun for me. The sport wasn’t necessarily as fun with all the noise. I love the position that I ascended to and I appreciate it because I know that’s what comes when you really put in the work like I did over the years. But it wasn’t necessarily as fun as the journey.”
If Usman can become a two-time welterweight champion, he can put himself in elite company with legends Matt Hughes and Georges St-Pierre. He will also have distanced himself from the rivalry with Edwards and will likely welcome in a new challenger to the welterweight title picture.
The co-main event of the evening will be in the lightweight division between former interim champion Justin Gaethje and rising contender Rafael Fiziev. The fight holds title implications in arguably the deepest division in the UFC.
Gaethje is known as one of the most exciting fighters in MMA due to his kill or be killed approach in the octagon. He challenged for the lightweight title in his last fight at UFC 274 in May, but came up short losing by first round submission to then champion Charles Oliveira. The fight was not short of explosive moments from Gaethje which is he is sure to bring to the fight on Saturday with Fiziev.
The 34-year-old has acknowledge his exciting status in the UFC. “I’m the most exciting fighter that has ever stepped in that octagon in the history of this sport,” Gaethje said. “Of course, I pride myself on that.”
“I don’t just believe it, you believe it,” Gaethje said. “You all believe it. You know it to be true. It’s not on purpose, it’s just who I am. That’s how I compete. I’m cut from this cloth.”
Gaethje respects his opponent on Saturday, but believes he will take the fight to Fiziev. “He’s got some crazy skills, especially to the untrained eye,” Gaethje said of Fiziev. “This guy is the best of the best. I think I can take advantage of certain situations. I think I can create more damage in certain situations. I think I can control distance better and I’m going to have to be perfect on Saturday in order for that to be the case.”
Despite coming up short in two title fights, Gaethje has key wins over Michael Chandler, Tony Ferguson, Donals Cerrone, Edson Barboza and Michael Johnson. If he can stop a rising contender such as Fiziev, he will remind everyone that he stills belongs in the title picture at lightweight.
Fiziev has won six straight fights and most recently defeated former champion Rafael Dos Anjos by fifth round KO in July. He has also netted five straight post-fight bonuses and just as Gaethje, he is not afraid to go to war to win a fight.
He believes he is going to win the battle on Saturday. “I’m waiting [for] the best Gaethje in front of me,” Fiziev said. “I’m waiting for best in shape, I’m waiting for hard fight from him. I’m waiting for blood...”
“It doesn’t matter what [happened] with Charles. I go in and make my job. Touch him with first punch, with second, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to take his heart.”
The 30-year-old is confident and he knows what a win over a name like Gaethje represents. “I can’t say it’s just another fight,” Fiziev said. “Of course I’m excited. This opponent is very famous and everybody knows him. ‘Highlight’ is his nickname. But also, it’s just the next fight for me. It’s both.
“I’m just going to keep doing what I do in this fight, and show him real highlight.”
The rest of the main card:
Welterweight - Gunnar Nelson vs. Bryan Barberena
Women's Flyweight - #8 Jennifer Maia vs. #12 Casey O'Neill
Middleweight - #4 Marvin Vettori vs. #9 Roman Dolidze
ESPN + Prelims:
Featherweight - #15 Jack Shore vs. Makwan Amirkhani
Lightweight - Chris Duncan vs. Omar Morales
Lightweight - Sam Patterson vs. Yanal Ashmoz
Flyweight - #12 Muhammad Mokaev vs. Jafel Filho
ESPN +/UFC FIGHT PASS Prelims:
Featherweight Lerone Murphy vs. Gabriel Santos
Middleweight Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Duško Todorović
Flyweight Malcolm Gordon vs. Jake Hadley
Women's Flyweight Joanne Wood vs. Luana Carolina
Lightweight Jai Herbert vs. Ľudovít Klein
Women's Flyweight Juliana Miller vs. Veronica Macedo
