UFC 286 went down final night time (Sat., March 18, 2023) from inside The O2 in London, England (results here), that includes a Welterweight title battle between division kingpin, Leon Edwards, and former title holder, Kamaru Usman. After 25 minutes of back-and-forth motion, Edwards retained his title through majority choice (recap here). In UFC 286’s pay-per-view (PPV) co-main occasion, Justin Gaethje defeated Rafael Fiziev in an thrilling Light-weight scrap that took dwelling “Fight of the Night” honors.
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Photograph by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC through Getty Photographs
Greatest Winner: Leon Edwards
After getting revenge on Usman at UFC 278 in Aug. 2022 through devastating knockout (see it here), Edwards sealed the rivalry by defeating him for a second straight time. Whereas Usman is adamant they’ll see one another once more, it doubtless gained’t be for awhile … or not less than so long as “Rocky” is champion. With the win, Edwards improves to 11-0-1 over his final 12 fights and has solidified himself as the very best 170-pound fighter within the sport. He’ll slowly climb the pound-for-pound listing and his paychecks will get larger for so long as he retains the title. It took awhile for Edwards to get to his first UFC championship battle, and now that he has won and defended the strap, we may very well be in retailer for an extended reign from “Rocky,” who gained’t hand over the throne so simply contemplating how lengthy it took him to usurp it.
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Photograph by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC through Getty Photographs
Runner Up: Justin Gaethje
One other apparent selection right here as a result of Gaethje as soon as once more placed on a spectacular, $50,000 bonus award-winning fight after edging out the aforementioned Fiziev on the conclusion of three rounds of spine-tingling action. The victory places “The Spotlight” again within the win column after dropping a second time in a 155-pound title battle to Charles Oliveira at UFC 274. Whereas one other title battle doubtless doesn’t await him subsequent, it does get him closer to his ultimate goal of becoming a UFC champion. However, Gaethje’s newest victory reminded everybody that he’s removed from executed and he’s nonetheless one of the vital violent fighters within the recreation, no matter weight class.
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Photograph by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC through Getty Photographs
Greatest Loser: Kamaru Usman
Whereas Usman did win the primary battle towards Edwards, he has now misplaced two straight title bouts to the British brawler, leaving him at a crossroads in his blended martial arts (MMA) profession. There was a time when “The Nigerian Nightmare” seemed unbeatable — which tends to occur if you win 19 straight fights — however Edwards confirmed as soon as once more that it merely isn’t the case. Identical to Usman defeated Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal two completely different instances, he himself has now suffered defeats towards the identical champion on a couple of event. And like Covington and Masvidal earlier than him, Usman will discover out that getting one other shot is simpler stated than executed. That stated, “The Nigerian Nightmare” is simply 35 years outdated, so it stays to be seen if he nonetheless has loads left within the tank and on the clock to finally make one other run on the division title.
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