Britain’s Leon Edwards retained his welterweight title in front of his home fans as he beat Kamaru Usman by majority decision at UFC 286 in London.
Edwards, 31, was the more dangerous striker throughout as he prevented the majority of Usman’s takedown attempts.
The victory over Usman, 35, sees Edwards make his first title defence since beating the Nigerian in August.
The bout at the O2 Arena was billed as the biggest British MMA fight in history.
In shocking Usman to avenge a 2015 defeat and win the title in August, Edwards became just the second British UFC champion and first since Michael Bisping in 2016.
Edwards’ achievement prompted the UFC to host a trilogy bout and its first numbered show in Britain since 2016, when Bisping defended his middleweight title against Dan Henderson in Manchester.
Following victory, Jamaican-born Edwards opened the door to a fight with former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington, who was sat at cage-side, but also said he might travel to Miami in April to see Jorge Masvidal’s fight with Gilbert Burns.
“That man [Covington] has sat out for two years. I might take a little trip to Miami and see what’s going on there,” said Edwards.
“I know it was a close fight so I knew I had to land the cleaner shots. He didn’t land many clean on me. He just had lots of pressure. Thanks to Kamaru for being a great competitor.”
