The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to London for the third event in the space of a year this Saturday, with a highly-anticipated Welterweight title fight between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman.
British champion Edwards is no stranger to the foe he faces tonight, having previously going toe to toe with the 'Nigerian Nightmare' on two prior occasions. The pair first met on December 19, 2015 at the Amway Centre in Orlando, Florida.
And while Kamaru would go on to hand Edwards his third and final loss to date via unanimous decision after three full rounds, it would inspire him towards a ten-fight unbeaten streak leading up to their second run-in - with big name victories over the likes of Nate Diaz, Donald Cerrone, Rafael Dos Anjos and Vicente Luque to name a few.
Read more: Undefeated Sunderland MMA fighter Mick Parkin lands a heavyweight UFC contract
The pair would meet again in the main event of UFC 278 in Salt Lake City, Utah last year, with Usman now champion and favourite to keep his belt. And it seemed to be written in the stars for the then 19-1 powerhouse, securing all four rounds over Usman heading into the last five minutes.
But with 56 seconds left on the clock, Usman took the bait of Edwards' southpaw straight - ducking straight into a vicious left roundhouse to the head - leaving him unconscious on the canvas. Edwards snagged the belt and is set to defend it against his old foe for the first time this weekend.
As their trilogy deal-sealer fast approaches, Chronicle Live brings you everything you need to know about the event, as well as how to watch it...
Where is UFC 286 taking place?
UFC 286 is taking place from the O2 Arena in London this Saturday, March 18. It's the third time that the company has hosted an event at the arena itself.
After the massive amounts of success seen from the debut event in March last year, the UFC rebooked the arena for July 23, 2022 - once again basking in the glory of the UK's love for mixed martial arts. Both events have heavily featured up and coming talent from across Great Britain, and this Saturday's event is no different.
What time does it start?
The event kicks off at 5pm GMT, with the early prelims starting soon after. The normal prelims will come at 7pm, before the main card unfolds around 9pm.
Leon Edwards and Kamaru Edwards are expected to make their trip to the patented Octagon at around 10.30pm for the main event of the evening.
Who's on the card?
Here's a breakdown of all of the fights taking place -
- Juliana Miller vs Veronica Macedo (First fight)
- Jai Herbert vs L'udovit Klein
- Joanne Wood vs Luana Carolina
- Jake Hadley vs Malcolm Gordon
- Christian Duncan vs Dusko Todorovic
- Lerone Murpy vs Gabriel Santos
- Muhammad Mokaev vs Jafel Filho
- Sam Patterson vs Yanal Ashmoz
- Chris Duncan vs Omar Morales
- Jack Shore vs Makwan Amirkhani (Featured Prelim)
- Marvin Vettori vs Doman Dolidze
- Jennifer Maia vs Casey O'Neill
- Gunnar Nelson vs Bryan Barbarena
- Justin Gaethje vs Rafael Fiziev
- Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman (Main Event)
What channel is it on?
As always with UFC events, you can catch live coverage on BT Sports should you be subscribed to their package.
You can browse and buy BT Sport packages here.
Alternatively, you can catch up with the highlights in the following days.
The prelims as always will be available to watch via the UFC Fight Pass, with membership costing £6.99 per month or £71.99 per year - although bear in mind that you WILL NOT be able to watch any of the main card fights through this, with the stream cutting off after the preliminary bouts.
How else can I keep up with it?
If you don't have BT Sports then you can keep up with all of the action right here on Chronicle Live, with Aaron Morris running a blow-by-blow blog from 4pm onwards. Tune in early to get your fill of the pre-card build-up before the results will be called from every bout as and when they take place.
A number of establishments across the North East will also be showing the action. According to website, Fanzo, Shark Club, Bar 52, Grosvenor Casino and The Lonsdale will be showing the action across Newcastle.
In Sunderland meanwhile, Streetbar is televising it on the big screens around the bar too, with the Grosvenor Casino on Wearside also showing it according to the site.
Will you be tuning into UFC London this weekend? Let us know in the comments.
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