KAMARU USMAN VS. LEON EDWARDS 3 OFFICIAL FOR UFC 286 IN LONDON

Timothy James

March 17, 2023

Dana White confirmed that Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards 3 is finalized for UFC 286 on March 18th.

The trilogy is going down – on Leon’s home turf. Dana White revealed that Kamaru Usman will be getting his chance to reclaim his welterweight title this March from the O2 Arena in London, England.

“Leon Edwards and [Kamaru] Usman is finalized,” White stated during the UFC Vegas 67 post-fight press conference. It was a busy night for White and the UFC – announcing the release of Francis Ngannou, Jon Jones vs. Cyril Gane for the heavyweight belt, Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev, and finally Edwards vs. Usman 3.

Edwards shocked the MMA community with his head kick heard round the world when he knocked out Kamaru Usman in the final minute of the 5th round at UFC 278 – a fight that he was losing on the judge’s scorecards.

It was Usman’s first and only loss in the UFC – coming at the hands of a man he had already beaten at UFC on Fox 17, all the way back in 2015. Usman was well on his way to cementing his place as one of, if not the, greatest welterweights of all time. The Edwards rematch was an unexpected bump in the road – but Usman gets his shot at redemption in March.

There were concerns over Usman’s hand, with rumors circulating that an injury would keep him out of the trilogy bout against Edwards. Surging welterweight Belal Muhammad campaigned hard to be his replacement, but it was all for naught, as the trilogy was confirmed by Dana White.

The question now is…will Usman play spoiler in front of the English crowd, reclaiming his belt? Or does Leon “Rocky” Edwards pull off the upset one more time?