Leon Edwards defeats Kamaru Usman to retain UFC title

Leon Edwards made a successful defense of the UFC welterweight world title in his trilogy fight against Kamaru Usman following a majority decision in the main event of UFC 286 this Sunday (Philippine time) at the O2 Arena in England.

Both fighters exchanged in a striking contest where Edwards tapped on his full arsenal by throwing punches, kicks, and knees that found their target. Usman, meanwhile, relied on his boxing and attempted to wrestle throughout the course of the fight.

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— UFC (@ufc) March 18, 2023

It was a back-and-forth action with two of three judges seeing the fight for the defending champion. The scorecards were 48-46, 48-46, and 47-47 after five five-minute rounds, improving Edwards’ record to 21-3 while Usman suffered back-to-back losses to the former and fell to 20-3.

“I was landing more cleaner shots and took out his legs. He is my hardest fight to this day. I want to say thank you for being a great competitor,” Edwards said after the fight.

The two fighters first squared off in a non-title bout in 2015. Last August, Edwards won the title by defeating Usman with a fifth round knockout in their UFC 278 clash.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News