Edwards vs Usman III

Who won Edwards vs Usman III?

Leon Edwards beat Kamaru Usman by majority decision in their 5 round contest during the main event of UFC 286, on Saturday 18th March 2023 at o2 Arena in London.

The scorecards were announced as 48-46, 48-46, 47-47 in favor of the winner Leon Edwards.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Welterweight division, which meant the weight limit was 170 pounds (12.1 stone or 77.1 KG).

This contest was for the UFC Welterweight championship.

Edwards vs Usman III stats

Leon Edwards stepped into the octagon with a record of 20 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws, 7 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 3 by submission.

Kamaru Usman made his way to the cage with a record of 20 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by knock out and 1 by submission.

This was Leon Edwards' 19th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2014.

Leon Edwards' UFC record stood at 14-4-0, while Kamaru Usman's came in at 15-3-0.

The stats suggested Usman had a slight advantage in power over Edwards, with a 45% knock out percentage over Edwards' 35%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Edwards had a slight advantage over Usman, with a 15% submission rate over Usman's 5%.

Leon Edwards was the younger man by 4 years, at 33 years old.

Edwards had a height advantage of 2 inches over Usman. Despite this, Usman had a 4-inch reach advantage.

Edwards was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 1 more fights, and made his debut in 2011, 1 year and 5 months earlier than Usman, whose first professional fight was in 2012. He had fought 10 more professional rounds, 86 to Usman's 76.

Edwards vs Usman III form

Edwards had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges 3 times.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 – Manchester on 27th July 2024 by unanimous decision in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at Co-op Live Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom.

Previous to that, he had won against Colby Covington at UFC 296 on 16th December 2023 by unanimous decision in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 on 18th March 2023 by majority decision in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at o2 Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Before that, he had defeated Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 on 20th August 2022 by knockout in the 5th round in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, United States.

He was victorious against Nate Diaz at UFC 263 on 12th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at Gila River Arena, Glendale.

Usman had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had been beaten by Leon Edwards at UFC 278 on 20th August 2022 by knockout in the 5th round in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Colby Covington at UFC 268 on 6th November 2021 by unanimous decision in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261 on 24th April 2021 by knockout in the 2nd round in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville.

Before that, he had defeated Gilbert Burns at UFC 258 on 13th February 2021 by knockout in the 3rd round in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He was victorious against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 on 11th July 2020 by unanimous decision in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Leon Edwards had been fighting more than Kamaru Usman.

Going to this contest, Leon Edwards had last fought 8 months and 1 day ago, while Kamaru Usman's last outing had been 2 years, 7 months and 8 days ago.

Edwards' last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 9 months and 16 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 4 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 25 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 5 rounds on average.

Usman's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 8 months and 17 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 10 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 20 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Edwards vs Usman III?

Leon Edwards was a 9/4 (+230) underdog going into the contest, while Kamaru Usman made his way into the ring at 9/25 (-280) with oddsmakers.