Leon Edwards just shocked the world. Edwards’ “Rocky” story came to life with a headbutt knockout late in round five of the UFC 278 main event on Saturday night.
After becoming the first person to score a takedown on the near-perfect champion in the first round, Edwards struggled in later rounds to build any kind of momentum. Usman returned to the fight with his superior wrestling and heavy boxing combinations and looked on his way to another title defense as he neared Anderson Silva’s record for most all-time.
Usman’s pace slowed in round 5, but that likely led to a unanimous decision win for the champion as Edwards looked defeated in his corner as his team begged him to come alive in the final round.
Suddenly, Edwards threw a forehand and launched a left headbutt that knocked Usman out at 4:04 of Round 5.
Can’t get enough of boxing and MMA? Get the latest in the world of combat sports from two of the best in the business. Subscribe to Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell for the best analysis and in-depth news, including instant UFC 278 analysis below.
“Pound for pound. Headshot. Dead,” Edwards told UFC commentator Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview. “I’ve been saying all week that I feel like this is my moment. Everything that’s happened in the past. The last two years, the pandemic. There’s no ring rust . I told you, look at me now.”
Edwards improved to 20-3 (1 NC) with the win over Usman. His unbeaten streak increased to 11. Usman saw his 19-game winning streak shattered in the blink of an eye and suffered his first loss in nine years.
It was the fourth last finish in a title fight – seconds from Usman’s own finish of Colby Covington in 2019.
Usman remained optimistic about his future. The former champ took to Twitter and promised to come back with a vengeance.
UFC President Dana White in a post-fight press conference with media insisted on a trilogy. White suggested Wembley Arena as the venue and expressed his desire to see the rubber match in England.
“I thought Usman had put up the perfect fight,” White said. “You think about everything that was at stake for Usman tonight. Usman fought with absolute, utter confidence all night. It might not be the most fan-friendly style, but he was clinching big shots to the body, big shots to the head and elbows, he couldn’t have fought a more perfect fight until the last minute.
CBS Sports was with you the whole way Saturday bringing you all the results and highlights from UFC 278 below.
UFC 278 card and results
- Leon Edwards (c) beats. Kamaru Usman via fifth-round knockout (head kick)
- Paulo Costa beats. Luke Rockhold by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Merab Dvalishvili defeated. Jose Aldo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Lucia Pudilova defeated. Wu Yanan via second-round TKO (elbows)
- Tyson Pedro defeats. Harry Hunsucker via first-round TKO (punches)
- Marcin Tybura defeats. Alexander Romanov by majority decision (29-28, 28-29, 28-28)
- Jared Gordon won. Leonardo Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Sean Woodson vs. Luis Saldana drew (29-27, 27-29, 28-28)
- Angel Loosa beats. AJ Fletcher via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Amir Albazi defeats. Francisco Figueiredo via first-round submission (rear naked choke)
- Aori Qileng defeats. Jay Perrin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Victor Altamirano defeated. Daniel Da Silva via first-round TKO (punches)