With this card being announced in early June, MMA specialists were quite skeptical of the card believing it was definitely lackluster for a PPV. But everyone was proved wrong during the main card. One reason that proceeds MMA as one of the greatest sports in the world is that the fight is not finished until the final horn and that was the case for the main event fight. At UFC 278 Main event, with less than a minute to go in Round 5, Leon Edwards appears to be a challenger he was only trying to reach the finish line while still standing with no energy left with only the hope of not being put away. But that comes later in this absolutely extraordinary article from yours truly.
Jose Aldo vs Merab Dvalishvili
Yes, Merab has an interesting last name, but replace the “V’s” with a W, and that ladies and gentlemen is how to pronounce this Georgian fighter’s surname. Aldo containing the #3 contender for the Bantamweight division is no rookie to this establishment. From being the first ever featherweight champion of the world, (later dethroned by the Notorious One) the Brazilian has recorded the reputation as one of the GOATS of the UFC with an outstanding record of 31-8. Merab being one of the more looked behind fighters on the card finds himself as #6 on the bantamweight charts. “The Machine” holds a record of 15-4 after his win over Aldo resumes his position at the #3 spot. We might be seeing the first signs of a decline for the old legend in Aldo, even though he fought fast and prestige on Saturday, his capability to defend against Merab’s grappling and clinching was too much since Jose is more of a striker which ultimately slowed him down.
During the fight, Aldo only confirmed 59 strikes in a total of 3 rounds while the Georgian had a total of 135 with an outstanding 16 takedown attempts which surprisingly none affected Aldo because of his extreme takedown guard. The fight ended with a Unanimous Decision with Merab Dvalishvili taking all 3 rounds 28-29, 27-30, 28-29.
Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold
The Co-main event served a major purpose on this outstanding card, delivering a fantastic fight featuring top businessmen in the Middleweight division.
“The Eraser” haunts the Middleweight division at rank #6 with a 14-2 record. Impressively known for his distinct grown game and durability in the octagon. Luke Rockhold (37), a previous Middleweight champion (16-6) defeating the legendary Chris Weidman for the belt (lost the belt to Michael Bisping in 2016), ended up marking his territory in Utah against Paulo Costa. However, it was ultimately not enough for the fighter who has a reputation for his online trolling antics ending with a unanimous decision for Costa with all three judges synonymous 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.
Oh boy, this was a hell of a fight. Most fight fans believe was the fight of the night. A more confusing rather than straightforward fight. From Luke Rockhold generously rubbing his blood all over Costa’s face as a sign of friendship designing a portrait if you will — to him yelling slurs at his opponent before striking a flush right hand stunning Costa and causing him to fall back with the Vivint Arena erupting in “oooh’s and “woah’s.”
But also this fight brought disappointment and sadness to the MMA world after Luke announced his retirement. During his octagon interview with Joe Rogan, he spoke the simple words, “I’m ******* old”. I’m optimistic you can fill in the blank. Concluding his career, as he was leaving the octagon former teammate and training partner of Luke, announcer Daniel Cormier, dashed over to embrace his depressed and decrepit auxiliary. Luke’s age was a key reason why his cardio failed him that night or else that bout would have turned out so differently.
This intense bout concatenated a total of 163 strikes 106 for Costa and 57 for Rockhold. The Brazilian controlled Luke for a total of 5 minutes and 28 seconds during the fight, ultimately convincing the judges of his victory. The former champ was absolutely gassed after the first round leaking early adding some faceprint to the criteria of his face. The canvas transformed into a piece of artwork after all the red was absorbed into the crisp white octagon resulting in the warriors slipping erasing any energy for the two men in the next rounds.
Kamaru Usman vs Leon Edwards 2
Ah, finally the main event. The moment UFC fans around the world have been impatiently waiting for and preparing for. The #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world against the #3 ranked welterweight contender in an extreme battle on if Usman can keep his championship reign status quo, or if Edwards can pull off one of the biggest upsets in history. Usman (20-1) has never lost in the UFC as well as never been taken down in his whole UFC career. Kamaru also was coming off a 15-fight win streak, one away from tieing the legend Anderson Silva’s record for the most consecutive victories in a row. The Nigerian Nightmare has defended his title 5 times conserving his claim to the belt in March of 2019 against Tyron Woodley. Leon “Rocky” Edwards (19-3) was on a 10-fight winning streak coming into this fight his only loss was against Usman in 2015 for a welterweight bout. He then continued his journey to chase the welterweight belt which he deserved after winning those 10 fights in a row.
Edwards started off at a fantastic start by being the first fighter to ever take down Usman giving him tons of momentum ultimately winning him round one with a flurry of flush body shots and leg checks. 10-9 Edwards.
After the first round, Usman had been dominating the fight from all fields. His takedown defense was impeccable, his full and half guards were flawless, and his ability to control Leon for 10 minutes of the entire fight very much guaranteed his sixth title defense in the judge’s eyes. 10-9 Usman. (tied at 19-19).
Leon was beginning to slow down going into the third round suffering from being controlled throughout all of the rounds. Usman is all over Edwards taking him down left and right. A full mount takedown takes place for Usman and he delivers heavy, devastating blows to Edwards. 29-28 Usman.
Round 4 returned a huge struggle for Leon with continuous illegal fence grabbing to help him get back up on his feet from a takedown which was caught by referee Herb Dean resulting in (because that certain move is illegal) a repeat of the takedown position spawning them back onto the canvas. This had Leon sagging the whole rest of the round from exhaustion and fatigue desperate to stay alive.
The final round finally comes around in Salt Lake City to close out UFC 278. Usman is determined to fire out and finish this fight and once again defend his title. Leon still drained and weary praying to the Lord in hopes of a finish or simply a decision to win. Usman began to fill with cockiness and started threatening Leon. This was completely unnecessary because everyone in the arena knew he had cooked up enough action for the win. But Leon kept fighting and with 58 seconds left in the final world with very few Opportunities left; Leon feints a jab with the right hand and distributes a massive high left kick; knocking out Kamaru Usman and granting Leon Edwards the new Welterweight Champion of the World.
