- Kamaru Usman has opened as the -281 betting favorite to beat Leon Edwards (+241) in their third bout.
- The two have been booked to fight at the main event of UFC 286 on March 18, 2023, at the O2 Arena in London.
- Edwards upset Usman with live odds of +5000 with a head-kick knockout with one minute left in the fifth round of their UFC 278.
UFC President Dana White has been busy announcing big fights since slapping his wife. There doesn’t seem to be a connection but the fact is White has divulged two big title fights since the slapping incident.
First, White revealed that Jon Jones will take on Cyril Gane for the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 285. Shortly after that, Uncle Dana also disclosed that the trilogy bout between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman will take place at UFC 286.
We already talked about Jones vs Gane in a previous news post on this website. And we’re not going to touch on the topic of Dana slapping his wife. Instead, we’ll be discussing the third fight between current UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards and former champion Kamaru Usman which will serve as the main event of the March 18, 2023 event at London’s O2 Arena.
Leon Edwards Shocks the World
LEON EDWARDS SHOCKS THE WORLD AND KNOCKS OUT KAMARU USMAN TO WIN THE UFC WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP! 😱
(🎥: @UFC)pic.twitter.com/UruRzUs1Uw
— theScore (@theScore) August 21, 2022
Edwards scored a massive last-minute upset of Usman at UFC 278 last August. The 31-year-old Jamaican-born British fighter entered the bout as the +290 betting underdog but with Usman seemingly cruising towards a decision win, Edwards headed to the 5th and final round as a massive -5000 live betting underdog at the BetOnline App. But just when things looked moot and academic, Edwards stunned the MMA world with one of the most dramatic finishes in UFC history.
Usman was up 3-1 in all judges’ scorecards entering the final round and he outstruck Edwards per round from Round 2 to 5. Overall, Usman landed 83 significant strikes compared to Edwards’ 55 and the Nigerian Nightmare took Rocky down 5 times while controlling him for a good 10+ minutes on the ground. But all it took was one perfectly-timed head kick from Edwards to alter the course of destiny.
The loss was Usman’s first defeat since his second professional fight in 2013 when he was choked out by Jose Caceres at CFA 11. After that defeat, Usman won 19 consecutive bouts, including 5 successful defenses of the UFC welterweight title he won from Tyron Woodley at UFC 235. Entering UFC 278, Usman looked unstoppable but instead of walking away with another “W”, it was he who suffered a nightmare.
Rubber Match For Gold
The trilogy is on! Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman will have their rubber match for gold at #UFC286.
Full story: https://t.co/NLHz7hDDWf pic.twitter.com/0ZfNzw1900
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 15, 2023,
With Usman beating Edwards via unanimous decision in their first meeting n 2015, it was but expected that the two would meet again for a third fight. That rubber match has been set, and just like their second bout, it will be for the Welterweight gold. And too, just like the rematch, Usman has opened as the heavy favorite to beat Edwards.
During the first bout, Usman opened at -250 odds and Edwards at +210. This time around, the Nigerian Nightmare is an even bigger opening favorite. According to SportsBetting.ag, Usman is currently priced at -281 with Edwards coming back at +241 odds.
Usman is even listed as short as -375 odds at some sportsbooks while Edwards is as low as +290 at the other UFC betting sites. You can’t blame them because Usman was only a minute away from victory when the knockout happened and had Edwards not connected on that head-kick KO, Marty would still be the champion and his winning streak would have hit 20.
