Leon
Edwards still occupies the throne.
Kicks to the body, head and legs, extraordinary takedown defense
and stellar counterstriking carried the undisputed
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight titleholder to a
majority decision over Kamaru
Usman in the emotionally charged UFC
286 headliner on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London. Scores
were 48-46, 48-46 and 47-47.
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Edwards (21-3, 13-2 UFC) completes his trilogy against “The
Nigerian Nightmare” with a 2-1 advantage and now holds sway over
the 170-pound weight class.
Usman (20-3, 15-2 UFC) struggled and ultimately failed to pry the
champion away from his gameplan. Edwards zeroed in on the body and
legs with repeated kicks, staggered the Onx Sports representative
with a knee strike off the break in the second round and managed to
minimize his rival’s gains in the grappling exchanges. Usman
appeared to turn the corner in Round 3, where he also benefitted
from a point deduction due to a pair of fence grabs, but momentum
proved elusive. Edwards saved his best work for when it mattered
most. He stonewalled Usman’s increasingly desperate attempts for
takedowns in the fifth round, pairing those efforts with a few
partially blocked head kicks, some short-range uppercuts and an
exquisite standing elbow.
Indomitable Gaethje Downs Fiziev
Former World Series of Fighting champion Justin
Gaethje called upon a potent jab, power punching combinations
and vicious low kicks, as he captured a majority decision over
Rafael
Fiziev in the three-round lightweight co-main event. Two of the
three judges—Mark Collett and Clemens Werner—saw it 29-28 for
Gaethje, while Paul Sutherland scored it a 28-28 draw.
It was the barnburner that everyone expected. Fiziev’s blindingly
fast hands and a series of devastating front kicks to the body were
the story early on. Gaethje (24-4, 7-4 UFC) weathered the assault
and turned up to the heat with hooks to the head at distance and
thudding uppercuts at close range. Fiziev (12-2, 6-2 UFC) seemed to
answer at the start of Round 3, where he clipped the Trevor Wittman
protégé with a clean one-two and unleashed another front kick to
the body. Gaethje, however, refused to be denied. He brought his
crushing jab into play more and more, paired it with uppercuts that
sent spit, blood and snot flying and mixed in a tactical takedown
in the closing seconds.
The setback was Fiziev’s first since April 20, 2019 and slammed the
door on a six-fight winning streak.
Nelson Armbar Dismisses Barberena
Gunnar
Nelson disposed of Bryan
Barberena with an armbar in the first round of their
welterweight feature. A short-notice replacement for Daniel
Rodriguez, Barberena (18-10, 9-8 UFC) raised the white flag of
surrender 4:51 into Round 1.
Nelson (19-5-1, 10-5 UFC) walked through a few low kicks, punched
his way into the clinch and executed a single-leg takedown. From
there, a feeling of inevitability took hold. Nelson chipped away
with elbows, progressed to full mount and applied additional
ground-and-pound until the opportunity he desired presented itself.
With time ticking away, the Icelandic grappling savant transitioned
to the armbar and forced the tap.
It was the 12th first-round finish of Nelson’s career.
Maia Stymies Unbeaten O’Neill
Chute Boxe mainstay Jennifer
Maia outboxed the previously undefeated Casey
O’Neill to a unanimous decision in a three-round women’s
flyweight attraction. Maia (21-9-1, 6-5 UFC) swept the scorecards
with 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 marks from the three-member
judiciary.
O’Neill (9-1, 4-1 UFC) failed to make necessary adjustments in
time. Maia used the former Eternal MMA champion’s aggression
against her and walked the Irvine, Scotland, native into two-,
three- and four-punch combinations for the better part of two
rounds. O’Neill diversified her attack in Round 3, did a better job
of incorporating kicks and matched the Brazilian’s output, only to
fall short in the eyes of the judges.
Maia, 34, will enter her next assignment on the strength of
back-to-back victories.
Surgical Vettori Outduels Dolidze
Former Venator Fighting Championship titleholder Marvin
Vettori won for the seventh time in nine appearances, as he
laid claim to a unanimous decision over Roman
Dolidze in a three-round middleweight showcase. All three
cageside judges scored it for Vettori (19-6-1, 9-4-1 UFC): 29-28,
29-28 and 30-27.
Dolidze (12-2, 6-2 UFC) headhunted for the duration, connecting
with clubbing blows from both hands at various points. Vettori
answered with repeated kicks to the inside and outside of the lead
leg, a sneaky jab and occasional combinations. His surgical
approach curried favor with the judges. Dolidze excelled at close
range, often cornering the Italian along the fence. However, his
lack of output—particularly in Round 2—proved costly.
The loss snapped Dolidze’s four-fight winning streak.