What is the likely location of UFC 278?

Octagon at UFC 274 (Image via Getty)
Octagon at UFC 274 (Image via Getty)

Rumors of the UFC 278 PPV location have come out. With the midway point of 2022 lurking, there is still time for must-see UFC pay-per-views. Despite several memorable PPVs thus far, like UFC 270 and UFC 274, the PPV of the year award is easily up for grabs. Looking forward, several event candidates could secure the honor.

Take a look at the upcoming UFC fights/events below:

According to Ariel Helwani on Substack, UFC 278 is being targeted for Salt Lake City, Utah. If the rumors are true, this will only be the second time the leader in MMA has traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah. UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko was supposed to be the first UFC event in Utah, but the event was relocated due to low ticket sales.

The only time the UFC successfully went to Salt Lake was in 2016 for UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Caceres. The event went down inside Vivint Arena and had a recorded attendance of 6,689. Although no big fights have become official for UFC 278, rumors of the main event have emerged with a potential Salt Lake City location.

Take a look at Ariel Helwani's substack below:


What fight will headline UFC 278?

Salt Lake City will most likely be the location for UFC 278, but what will be the main event? According to the same Ariel Helwani post, the UFC wants Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards 2 to be a part of the Salt Lake City event. The only problem is that 'The Nigerian Nightmare' is still struggling with a lingering hand injury.

After beating Colby Covington last time out, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' had surgery on his right hand for a ligament injury that occurred during training camp. ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto went on Twitter and had this to say about the injury:

“Spoke to Ali Abdelaziz [@AliAbdelaziz00] about Kamaru Usman’s hand. He said as of now Kamaru has not been medically cleared and there is no timeframe on his return. Kamaru only started slowly testing the hand this month.”

Usman and Edwards first fought back in 2015, when the 'The Nigerian Nightmare' won by unanimous decision. Since then, 'Rocky' has fought his way back to the top and finally earned his first UFC title shot. Only time will tell if these rematch rumors at UFC 278 will become official.

Take a look at the official tweet by Brett Okamoto below:

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