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UFC 278 saw Leon Edwards stage one of the most impressive come-from-behind victories in recent memory during his main event rematch against Kamaru Usman.
'Rocky' snatched the win from the jaws of defeat as he was clearly behind on the judges' scorecards. However, the British fighter did the unthinkable when he shut Usman's lights off with a head kick with less than a minute left in round five.
With the win, Edwards claimed the UFC welterweight title and extended his unbeaten streak to 11 fights. On top of that, he prevented Usman from tying Anderson Silva's record (16 fights) for the longest winning streak in UFC history.
The co-main event featured a bizarre but undeniably entertaining battle between Paulo Costa and Luke Rockhold. The middleweight contenders went the distance, with Costa earning the nod after three rounds.
After the bout, an emotional Rockhold hinted at the possibility of his retirement. Costa, meanwhile, earned a much-needed bounce back from back-to-back losses.
In the bantamweight division, Merab Dvalishvili further solidified his status as a championship contender by defeating Jose Aldo via unanimous decision. The Georgian is now on an eight-fight winning streak and is expected to enter the title conversation in the near future.
Lucie Pudilova dominated Yanan Wu in their women's bantamweight bout. The Czech fighter used her superior grappling to take Yanan down and finished the fight by raining down vicious elbows on her opponent.
Finally, Tyson Pedro kicked off the UFC 278 main card with an impressive technical knockout win over Harry Hunsucker. The Australian snagged his second victory of 2022 after spending the better part of four years away from the octagon.
UFC 278 full card results
Main Card
Leon Edwards def. Kamaru Usman (c) via fifth-round knockout (head kick)
Paulo Costa def. Luke Rockhold via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Merab Dvalishvili def. Jose Aldo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Lucie Pudilova def. Wu Yanan via second-round TKO (elbows)
Tyson Pedro def. Harry Hunsucker via first-round TKO (punches)
Preliminary Card
Marcin Tybura def. Alexander Romanov via majority decision (29-28, 28-29, 28-28)
Jared Gordon def. Leonardo Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Sean Woodson vs. Luis Saldana ruled a split draw (29-27, 27-29, 28-28)
Ange Loosa def. A.J. Fletcher via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Amir Albazi def. Francisco Figueiredo via first-round submission (rear-naked choke)
Aori Qileng def. Jay Perrin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Victor Altamirano def. Daniel Da Silva via first-round TKO (punches)
