Leon Edwards will again share the octagon with rival Kamaru Usman as he looks to become UFC champion at the first time of asking.
The British star will finally get the opportunity to take a shot at Usman's welterweight crown with the fight set for UFC 278 at the Vivint Smart Home Arena, Utah in the early hours of tomorrow morning. It will be the second time the pair have met with Edwards having come up short against the Nigerian when they first touched gloves in 2015.
Standing in Edwards' way of becoming champion is Usman who is fast becoming one of the most dominant champions in the promotions history ahead of his sixth consecutive title defence this weekend.
Here is all you need to know ahead of the bumper UFC title clash...
What time is Kamaru Usman v Leon Edwards in the UK?
The preliminary bouts will begin at around 12am in the early hours of Sunday morning UK time, with the main card getting underway at 3am. Both fighters are expected to walk to the octagon at around 4:45am with the bout set to take place at around 5am providing the previous bouts run to schedule. Previous UFC pay-per-view main events have been known to start closer to 5.30am.
How to watch UFC 278 via TV and live stream
Edwards' title challenge against Usman will be broadcast exclusively live on BT Sport 1. BT customers can watch the event as part of their standard subscription at no extra cost. It will also live streamed on BT Sport’s website and app, so is available via mobile, laptop or tablet devices.
Main card
Kamaru Usman vs Leon Edwards - UFC welterweight title
Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold
Jose Aldo vs Merab Dvalishvili
Wu Yanan vs Lucie Pudilova
Tyson Pedro vs Harry Hunsucker
Prelims
Marcin Tybur vs Alexander Romanov
Leonardo Santos vs Jared Gordon
Sean Woodson vs Luis Saldana
A.J. Fletcher vs Ange Loosa
Early Prelims
Amir Albazi vs Francisco Figueiredo
Aori Qileng vs Jay Perrin
Daniel Da Silva vs Victor Altamirano
Who do you believe will win the UFC title fight - Kamaru Usman or Leon Edwards? Let us know in the comments section below
Odds
Usman 1/4
Edwards 5/2
Quotes corner
Usman: “Practice is practice. Nobody gives a s*** what you can do in practice. If you’re not out there doing it against the best in the world, time and time again, then how do you know where your level really is? So, it is what it is. I’m glad he got that time off. I’m glad he’s healed up, he’s strong.
“The one thing about that though is he has to be careful. You feel that and that’s gassing you up, you feel jazzed up about that. But what happens when this guy who has been in the wars, taken ‘punishment’ as you said, comes out and dominates you again? How do you feel about that, and how bad does that break you on the inside as a man?”
Edwards: "I think for this fight he'll definitely come out and try to wrestle. I can't see him coming to strike. So, I believe he's fallen in love with his hands.
"I'm going out there to get the win. Obviously, I would love to get a finish. I can see me even choking him out or TKO. But my main focus is to go out and get the victory. He's talking about everything apart from the fight. He's talking about going up to 205, fighting Canelo, everything apart from the fight.
"I'm so focused on becoming a world champion. If he thinks it's gonna be like the first fight, he's already lost the fight. I've erased that fight out of my mind a long time ago. If he thinks I'm the same kid as in that fight, then we'll see Saturday night."
