Leon Edwards will never forget the moment he finally felt gold around his waist after pulling off a miraculous comeback to knockout Kamaru Usman in the UFC 278 main event.
Down huge heading into the final round, Edwards uncorked a spectacular head kick that absolutely demolished Usman and sent him crashing to the canvas in a heap. Referee Herb Dean rushed in to stop the fight as Edwards almost immediately began tearing up as he realized his dream to become UFC champion.
The official stoppage came at 4:04 in the fifth round as Edwards claimed the title in one of the most unforgettable moments in the history of the sport.
” You all told me I could not do it. Take a look at me! Head shot, dead. That’s it,” Edwards said afterwards.
” It doesn’t really matter in the trenches. This is how I am built. I go until the bell’s done. Take a look at me. I told you I could do it. Pound-for-pound, what? The belt belongs to nobody!”
Edwards was able to show his resilience when he began strong, but eventually began to lose strength as the fight progressed into the final rounds.
Edwards was able to reverse Usman’s early takedown and became the first UFC fighter to place “The Nigerian Nightmare” on the mat. Edwards immediately advanced from there to grab the back and search for the rear naked choke, but Usman made it through to the finish.
The aggressive Usman came out with a vengeance and put pressure on Edwards. He also swung hard at Edwards’ head and body. Usman was still cautious in the exchanges as Edwards countered with some solid punches but the reigning champion was connecting with the stiffer strikes.
After some bruising punishment against the cage, Usman secured his first takedown as he started peppering away with punches to the body and wearing on Edwards’ conditioning.
As the third round got underway, Usman snatched a leg and put Edwards down again momentarily but he also set the tone as he continued to control the pace. Usman kept dragging Edwards to the mat as the former Division II National Champion wrestler really began weighing down on the challenger.
Another double-leg takedown followed as Usman looked to break Edwards with the continued pressure followed by short punches that kept chipping away. Any time the fight got back to the feet, Usman was launching huge shots including several elbows that were clubbing Edwards on the side of the head.
Usman seemed to have complete control by the end of the fourth and final rounds. Edwards’ coaches encouraged him to abandon everything and just go for it.
This is exactly what happened when Usman failed to make a good decision in the final seconds of the fight and decided to trade with Edwards. Edwards landed a kick with concussive force after Usman was forced to duck his head by a straight punch.
As soon as shin met bone, Usman was knocked flat on his back and Edwards raised his hands in victory as he became the second fighter from the United Kingdom to win UFC gold (the first was Michael Bisping).
“I can’t explain it,” Edwards said. God is with me. I felt like this was my moment. All of them said that I could not come back to do it. Now look at me now. Champion of the world .”
