The trilogy is set.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President, Dana White, announced after UFC Vegas 67 last night (Jan. 14, 2023) that Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman 3 is official for UFC 286 on March 18, 2023.
“Leon Edwards and Usman is finalized,” White told the media during UFC Vegas 67’s press conference (watch it here). And then [Justin] Gaethje and [Rafael] Fiziev are the co-main event for that fight in London. Done — both of those fights are done.”
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.
Edwards (20-3) spectacularly captured UFC’s Welterweight title in Aug. 2022, knocking out Usman in the fifth round of their fight at UFC 278 with a Hail Mary head kick (watch highlights). The ridiculous finish over Usman extended Edwards’ unbeaten streak to 10 fights. Usman (20-2), meanwhile. will look to reclaim the 170-pound title he held for four years and defended five times. The knockout loss at UFC 278 snapped his 15-fight win streak.
The Welterweight talents first faced off in 2015, with “Nigerian Nightmare” winning the fight via unanimous decision.
So far, the upcoming UFC 286 pay-per-view (PPV) card looks like this:
- Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman 3
- Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev
- Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze
- Nathaniel Wood vs. Lerone Murphy
- Joanne Wood vs. Luana Carolina
- Malcolm Gordon vs. Jake Hadley
- Jennifer Maia vs. Casey O’Neill
- Jai Herbert vs. Ľudovít Klein
- Daniel Rodriguez vs. Gunnar Nelson
- Chris Duncan vs. Michal Figlak
- Veronica Macedo vs. Juliana Miller
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.
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