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The UFC has finally booked the highly anticipated rematch between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards. As per an announcement on the UFC 275 broadcast, Usman vs. Edwards 2 will headline UFC 278 on August 20.
The event will take place at Salt Lake City, Utah, the tickets for which will be available from June 24 onwards.
While there were previously rumors of Usman's return in August, the 35-year-old recently hinted at a delay, claiming he had not fully recovered from a hand surgery. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' was also backed up by his manager Ali Abdelaziz, who dismissed the idea of his August return as 'completely not true'.
Longtime MMA journalist Ariel Helwani couldn't help but take a dig at Abdelaziz after the announcement of the fight. Posting a clip of the Dominance MMA CEO, Helwani wrote:
"That’s the one!"
Kamaru Usman met Leon Edwards inside the cage for the first time in his sophomore for the promotion back in 2015. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' impressively outgrappled Edwards over three rounds to pick up a dominant unanimous decision win.
While Usman went on to capture UFC gold, Edwards has achieved perrenial contender status at 170 lbs. 'Rocky' is currently riding a nine-fight win streak and has been undefeated since his loss to 'The Nigerian Nightmare'.
Belal Muhammad is eyeing a title shot against the winner of Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards should he get past Khamzat Chimaev
A welterweight elite clash between Belal Muhammad and Khamzat Chimaev has been in talks for a while now. The duo have even verbally agreed to a showdown in Abu Dhabi in October.
Following the announcement of the UFC 278 title fight between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards, Muhammad is confident of making a bid for UFC gold. 'Remember the Name' believes the winner of his fight against 'Borz' will get the next welterweight title shot against the winner of Usman vs. Edwards 2. The Chicago native wrote on Twitter:
"So winner of me and khamzat got next [Bullseye emoji]"
Muhammad is currently riding an eight-fight win streak that saw him grab the No. 5 spot on the welterweight ladder. Meanwhile, Chimaev recently topped off his 11-0 record with a unanimous decision win over Gilbert Burns in an iconic battle at UFC 273.
There is a fair chance of Muhammad or 'Borz' making a bid for UFC gold as they are the only two fighters from the top five yet to go up against reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
