Leon Edwards will attempt to become Britain’s second ever UFC champion this weekend, when the Birmingham fighter challenges Kamaru Usman in a welterweight rematch.
Jamaican-born Edwards was outpointed by Usman in 2015, as the Nigerian-American surged towards the title at 170lbs. Usman, 35, eventually claimed the belt in 2019 and has since retained it five times in a row, extending his overall win streak to a remarkable 19 fights.
Last time out, Usman (20-1) beat Colby Covington on points to retain the gold against the American for the second time. The “Nigerian Nightmare” has also recorded two successful defences against Jorge Masvidal, leading the champion to declare that he is “lapping” the opposition.
A second win over Edwards (19-3, 1 No Contest) would drive home that point, but the Briton is in fine form, having won nine bouts in a row since his loss to Usman. Most recently, Edwards, 30, outpointed fan favourite Nate Diaz with a dominant performance in June 2021.
Here’s all you need to know about UFC 278.
When is it?
UFC 278 takes place at the Vivint Arena in Salk Lake City, Utah on Saturday 20 August.
The early prelims will start at 11pm BST (3pm PT, 5m CT, 6pm ET), with the prelims following at 1am BST on Sunday 21 August (5pm PT, 7pm CT, 8pm ET on Saturday).
The main card then begins at 3am BST on Sunday (7pm PT, 9pm CT, 10pm ET on Saturday).
How can I watch it?
The card will air live on BT Sport in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights.
In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass.
Odds
Usman – 2/7
Edwards – 13/5
Full card
Main card
Kamaru Usman (C) vs Leon Edwards 2 (welterweight title)
Paulo Costa vs Luke Rockhold (middleweight)
Jose Aldo vs Merab Dvalishvili (bantamweight)
Marcin Tybura vs Alexander Romanov (heavyweight)
Tyson Pedro vs Harry Hunsucker (light heavyweight)
Prelims
Leonardo Santos vs Jared Gordon (lightweight)
Wu Yanan vs Lucie Pudilova (women’s bantamweight)
Sean Woodson vs Luis Saldana (featherweight)
Early prelims
AJ Fletcher vs Ange Loosa (welterweight)
Amir Albazi vs Francisco Figueiredo (flyweight)
Aoriqileng vs Jay Perrin (bantamweight)
Daniel da Silva vs Victor Altamirano (flyweight)