Denied! Leon Edwards, Kamaru Usman don’t get their own poster for UFC 286 trilogy

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) gave heavyweight rivals Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane their own poster for the upcoming UFC 285: “Jones vs. Gane” pay-per-view (PPV) event this March in Las Vegas (see it here), though you could argue flyweight foes Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso deserved some artistic real estate for their five round, 125-pound title fight, which serves as the UFC 285 co-main event.

LIVE! Watch UFC 286 PPV On ESPN+ Here!

CHAMPIONSHIP TRILOGY! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to The O2 in London England, on Sat., March 18, 2023, with newly-minted Welterweight kingpin, Leon Edwards, running it back with former 170-pound champion, Kamaru Usman, for a third (and likely final) time. In UFC 286’s pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, all-action Lightweight knockout artists, Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev, will lock horns with the winner inching closer to a future Lightweight title shot.

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UFC 286: “Edwards vs. Usman 3,” featuring the rubber match between newly-crowned welterweight champion Leon Edwards and former 170-pound titleholder Kamaru Usman, will split the poster with lightweight co-headliners Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev, who throw down in a three-round, non-title fight. Perhaps UFC doesn’t have confidence that Edwards and Usman can carry their own PPV card from a sales perspective.

Check out the full version below:

UFC

UFC 286 will be held on Sat., March 18, 2023, at The O2 in London, England.

Edwards (20-3) starched Usman (20-2) in the fifth round of their UFC 278 title fight back in August, snapping “The Nigerian Nightmare’s” incredible 19-fight winning streak and avenging his loss at the UFC on FOX 17 card way back in late 2015. Gaethje (23-4) is coming off a submission loss to Charles Oliveira and will look to spoil the lightweight ascension of Fiziev (12-1), who is the winner of six straight with three knockouts.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 286 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 286: “Edwards vs. Usman 3” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.