Leon Edwards has broken into the pound-for-pound rankings following his UFC title win over Kamaru Usman, who has lost his No.1 spot.
Edwards, 30, produced one of the greatest comebacks in UFC history last weekend, knocking out Usman with less than a minute left in their welterweight title clash after losing most of the fight. It marked the first loss of Usman's UFC career and also the first time he had ever been knocked out, with the Nigerian-American being unbeaten in over nine years heading into his sixth title defence.
The UFC has now updated their pound-for-pound rankings following the conclusion of their UFC 278 pay-per-view event. Usman has dropped from No.1 to No.4, with Edwards being two spots behind him in the rankings at No.6 despite his knockout win. Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has replaced Usman's top spot whilst middleweight king Israel Adesanya is second and Charles Oliveira is third.
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Usman has since opened as a huge favourite in a potential trilogy fight against Edwards. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' assured fans he was in good health despite the brutal knockout loss, stating: "Champs f*** up sometimes… but we bounce back and come with vengeance. I am truly overwhelmed by all the support. I am ok, just got caught in the right spot. These things happen. We will learn from them and do what greatness requires."
Edwards is the first Jamaican-born and second British champion in UFC history after his last-gasp win against Usman. A mural has since been unveiled in his hometown of Erdington in Birmingham and Edwards wants his first title defence to take place in the UK, with bitter rival Jorge Masvidal being a potential opponent.
'Rocky' admitted that a trilogy against Usman could also be next given the former champion was winning most of the rematch, stating: “Let’s run it back at Wembley with Kamaru. That was the best he had to offer and that was the worst I had to offer and I still got the finish.” The UFC has never held an event at Wembley Stadium, with most of their UK shows taking place at The O2 arena.
Another potential opponent for Edwards' first title defence is Nate Diaz, who had a late fightback against the Brit when they fought in June of last year. Edwards said if Diaz upsets the odds to beat Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279 next month and then re-signs with the promotion, he would be more than willing to rematch the UFC veteran.
