Leon Edwards Head Kick KOs Kamaru Usman in Epic UFC 278 Comeback Win

Leon Edwards is the new Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champion after upsetting Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC 278.

Usman (20-2) would manage to get the fight to the ground early in the first round, although the challenger popped to his feet shortly afterward. Shockingly, Edwards (20-3, 1 NC) would trip the champion and land straight into mount. After taking the back of the "The Nigerian Nightmare," Edwards would begin looking for a rear-naked choke. Usman would survive the rocky round but not without a solid scare by the challenger.

The champion would come out firing in Round 2, although Edwards stayed composed and was never overwhelmed by the pressure. "Rocky" would slow the pace down, with some help from an eye poke, and then went back-and-forth with Usman in a grappling exchange. Usman would start landing damaging elbows and capped off a solid second frame in his favor with a takedown of his own. Usman would repeat this strategy in the third and cement himself in full control.

Edwards began to fade in the fourth round as Usman got the fight to the ground with ease. While the British fighter would work back up to his feet, a fence grab noticed by Herb Dean would lead to it being reset. Usman would end the round on the feet, hurting Edwards with a combination of punches. The final frame would see Usman in control until a shocking and perfectly placed head kick landed for Edwards. Usman was instantly out and a new champion was crowned. The stoppage came at 4:04 of Round 5.

EDWARDS KNOCKED OUT USMAN 😱 #UFC278 pic.twitter.com/RWYU2n3lap

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 21, 2022

"Rocky" hasn't lost a fight since 2015 and now is 1-1 against Usman.

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Costa Outduels Exhausted Rockhold

Former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold's return didn't go as planned against Paulo Costa.

While Rockhold (16-6) wisely tried to take the fight to the ground, it took less than a minute for Costa (14-2) to rock the 37-year-old. Costa would take Rockhold down and achieve mount position, cementing a solid first round. Tired and bloodied, Rockhold would come out firing in the second round with kicks. Costa would come forward and believe he won via TKO but Rockhold went down due to a punch that hit low. After the fight was restarted, Rockhold would work well from a distance while Costa would get into range and work the body.

"Borrachinha" would come out firing in the third round as both the Brazilian and Rockhold stung each other with punches. Rockhold would hurt Costa several times down the stretch but simply didn't have the energy to finish the fight. A sloppy takedown attempt would allow Costa to take the back of Rockhold, who would reverse position with 25 seconds left. Rockhold would rub blood in Costa's face, which was an incredible moment, but not enough to win the round.

ROCKHOLD RUBBED HIS BLOOD ON COSTA 😦 #UFC278 pic.twitter.com/I1CeGGkUWz

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 21, 2022

After 15 grueling minutes, Costa would receive the unanimous decision with scores of 30-27 across the board. Rockhold would then retire inside the cage, sharing an emotional moment with Joe Rogan.

Dvalishvili Outworks Aldo

A pivotal bantamweight clash saw former featherweight king Jose Aldo take on rising contender Merab Dvalishvili.

A close Round 1 would see Dvalishvili (15-4) land more volume than Aldo (31-8) on the feet, though the Brazilian landed the harder shots. Dvalishvili would fail to secure any takedowns in Round 2 with the takedown defense of "Scarface" looking as solid as ever, but it was enough to largely nullify the offense of Aldo. Simply the busier fighter, Dvalishvili would continue pressing forward, although he failed to ever put the veteran in any danger. All three judges would score the fight for the Georgian fighter with scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27.

While Dvalishvili would take the decision, he was 0-15 on takedown attempts.

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Pudilova Punishes Wu

Lucie Pudilova moved up the women's bantamweight rankings by defeating Yanan Wu.

Pudilova (14-7) would have a strong first frame by taking down Wu (13-6) and controlling most of the first five minutes. "Bullet" would get the back of Wu in Round 2 but couldn't finish the rear-naked choke attempt. However, a series of elbows would put away the Chinese fighter at 4:04 of the second round.

Pudilova is now 3-5 inside the UFC.

Pedro Outclasses Hunsucker

Tyson Pedro was completely dominant against an overmatched Harry Hunsucker in the main card's opening bout.

A snapping jab hurt Hunsucker (7-6), who then retreated. A nicely placed kick to the body would drop Hunsucker and Pedro (9-3) followed with punches until the fight was stopped. The fight was officially stopped at 1:05 in the first round.

Pedro has won back-to-back UFC fights.

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