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In the main event of UFC 278, Kamaru Usman was seconds away from retaining his UFC welterweight belt after leading on the scorecards massively going into the final round. His opponent, Leon Edwards, had only won one of the rounds, with all three judges awarding the Englishman the opening five minutes.
Sal D'Amato, Derek Cleary and Chris Lee all scored the contest 39-37 after the first four rounds in favor of the Nigerian champion. However, the scorecards meant nothing after Edwards managed to land a beautiful head kick and immediately KO Usman with just under a minute left in the fight.
See the UFC 278 scorecard here:
The Nigerian largely outstruck the title challenger, with Usman landing 189 total strikes during the five-round bout. Leon Edwards only managed to land 64 strikes. However, the Englishman only needed one perfectly placed kick to end the bout.
'Rocky' did a decent job of defending Usman's takedowns. The former welterweight champion converted five out of his twelve takedown attempts, and Edwards even managed to take him down once.
Watch highlights of the UFC 278 bout here:
Given how close Edwards came to losing, the two UFC welterweights will likely meet in a rematch soon. However, the history between Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards is insanely marketable. The UFC could take the 'Street Jesus' route if Edwards isn't keen on a third bout with Kamaru Usman.
Masvidal attacked Edwards with "a three-piece and a soda" in the UK in 2019 and had to essentially escape from England to avoid trouble with the law.
Watch the incident below:
Was Kamaru Usman's KO loss against Leon Edwards the first time the Nigerian had been knocked out in professional MMA?
Before losing to Leon Edwards at UFC 278, Kamaru Usman had only lost once in his career. 'Nigerian Nightmare' lost to Jose Caceres via submission in his second professional MMA bout, with Usman losing in the first round at CFA 11: Kyle vs. Wiuff 2 in 2013.
After losing to Caceres, Usman went on a 19-fight winning streak that spanned over several years in his professional career.
Edwards became the first fighter ever to knockout Usman at UFC 278. The Englishman was losing heavily on the scorecards, but managed to land a "hail mary" head kick in the dying seconds of the bout.
Kamaru Usman will now have to show a lot of heart to bounce back from such a devastating knockout loss, especially considering how well the fight went for the former champion before his lights were shut out by the Englishman.
