We have a headliner for UFC 286!
It is official: Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman are completing their trilogy at UFC 286 on March 18 at the O2 in London, England.
UFC president Dana White announced the news during his appearance at the post-fight press conference for UFC Vegas 67 on Saturday. There was concern that the fight could be delayed because of a hand injury for Usman, but that rumor is officially squashed.
The pair first fought at UFC on FOX 17, where the Usman defeated Edwards by unanimous decision. From there, the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ and ‘Rocky’ rattled off several wins before getting to their rematch at UFC 278 this past August. This time, the UFC welterweight championship was on the line, and Usman was ahead on the judges’ scorecards 3-1 before Edwards caught him with a picture-perfect head kick that sent him to the canvas in a heap.
After Usman was dethroned, Edwards said the third (and potentially) final fight would be on his terms, which meant the ex-champion would have to go over to London for it. Usman agreed, and here we are now.
Alongside our headliner, White also announced the co-headliner for the upcoming pay-per-view event, which sees Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev share the Octagon in what should be a violent, all-action affair.
Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for more updates to UFC 286 as they become available in the comings months.