ON Aug. 21, 2022 (PH time), welterweight champion Nigerian-American mixed martial artist Kamaru Usman goes up against English mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Edwards for the welterweight title in UFC 278 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The day before, the fighters passed the weigh-ins with flying colors. Usman and Edwards both weighed in at 170 pounds.
It’s been almost seven years since Usman and Leon fought in the prelims of UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs Cowboy 2. Usman won that match, and then tore through the welterweight division before taking the title from Tyron Woodley. Since then, Usman has won 15 straight—with five successful championship defenses.
Standing in the way is Edwards, who has won 10 straight since his loss against Unman in 2015.
If Usman beats Edwards in their rematch, the former will tie MMA legend Anderson Silva for the longest win streak in UFC history (16 wins).
Usman currently has a 20-1 MMA, 15-0 UFC record. Edwards holds a 19-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC record.
In the co-main event, former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold (16-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) will be seeing action in the octagon after a three-year layoff to go to battle against Paulo Costa (13-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC). Both fighters weighed in at 185.5 pounds.
Here is the complete list of fights for UFC 278 (with corresponding weights):
MAIN CARD:
Welterweight
championship: Kamaru Usman (170) vs. Leon Edwards (170)
Paulo Costa (185.5) vs. Luke Rockhold (185.5)
Jose Aldo (136) vs. Merab Dvalishvili (136)
Lucie Pudilova (135.5) vs. Wu Yanan (136)
Harry Hunsucker (204.5) vs. Tyson Pedro (205.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Alexandr Romanov (239.5) vs. Marcin Tybura (252.5)
Jared Gordon (155.5) vs. Leonardo Santos (156)
Luis Saldana (145.5) vs. Sean Woodson (146)
PRELIMINARY CARD
A.J. Fletcher (170.5) vs. Ange Loosa (170.5)
Amir Albazi (126) vs. Francisco Figueiredo (125.5)
Aori Qileng (136) vs. Jay Perrin (136)
Victor Altamirano (125) vs. Daniel Da Silva (126)