What was the biggest moment at UFC 278? Megan AndersonJeff Wagenheim, Marc Raimondi and Brett Okamoto give their experiences after the UFC’s return to Salt Lake City.
Less than a minute left until Round 5 of the main event at UFC 278 and Leon Edwards looks like a soulless challenger who only hopes to finish while still standing.
In fact, Edwards had a strong first round. He scores an early takedown, the first to surrender by Kamaru Usman in 15 fights during his UFC career. But from the second round onward, Edwards was beaten up by the UFC welterweight champion, who stalked him, beat him up, and tired him out. As the boxers were waved together at the start of Round 5, it was clear to everyone present at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Saturday night and everyone watching at home that Edwards needed to create something great. It’s also clear from the challenger’s body language how difficult that will be. Edwards looked exhausted. And instead of prompting action, his approach as those final five minutes ticked past the clock was confusingly passive. He kept Usman away from him by unleashing punches and kicks, but nothing he was sending in the champion’s direction looked dangerous.
Until …
“Headshot! Bang! Done!”
Those were the words Edwards shouted into the camera right after the match ended in the 4th minute, 4th second of the final round. As Usman lay motionless on the tarp, Edwards ran around in tears, climbed to the top of the cage, then jumped down and summed up the moment in those few words, his voice barely audible to his screams. a crowd is in shock.
Just as all hopes were dashed for the 30-year-old Jamaican-born Briton, he unleashed a lazy left-hander that Usman easily saved. But what Usman never saw was the left headbutt right after the punch. It landed on the right side of the champion’s head, and, well, exploded… done.
In one of the greatest comeback wins Octagon has ever seen in a championship match, the fight is over and there’s a new champion. This annoyance may be unthinkable to some, but MMA fans have been trained to expect the unexpected. Just last December, the women’s #1 chart Amanda Nunes was annoyed by Julianna Pena. It was an even bigger shock than this result. If anything, it prepared all of us for what happened this night.
However, a lot about this result is unthinkable. However, Usman entered the fight not only as the welterweight champion, but also as the #1 boxer in MMA. He was less than a minute away from successfully defending his sixth straight title and 20th straight win. Usman is being talked about as a contender for the title of the greatest boxer of all time.
In fact, in the time leading up to tonight, one could be forgiven for not even knowing that Edwards was part of the UFC 278 main event. Nearly every best story in card hype story These fights are all focused on Usman. Along with the GOAT talk, there is even speculation about whether Usman is facing a rapid rise Khamzat Chimaev next and if the champion passes that test, the challenge he can take after that.
Saturday’s challenger was something of an afterthought.
Edwards should have gotten used to that. Although he entered the game on a 10-match unbeaten streak – he hasn’t lost since a decisive 2015 loss to Usman – Edwards has been largely overlooked. I mean, Jorge Masvidal got two shots before Edwards got it.
Why so? Edwards was not a talkative person. He has come to a decision in his previous four wins. He is not considered one of the stars of the sport. He had to win and win and win to make himself impossible to be ignored by his UFC opponents.
“Look at me now!” Edwards asked again and again in his post-war interview.
Well, champion, now you’ve got the world’s attention. – Jeff Wagenheim
If this is for Rockhold, remember him not in recent years
0:32
Paulo Costa won easily over Luke Rockhold via unanimous decision in the co-main event of UFC 278.
Luke Rockhold hasn’t won a fight since 2017 and has only won one since 2015. On Saturday night at UFC 278, Rockhold looked annoyed at the end of the first half, but showed great heart in the end. end the match with Paulo Costa in a loss-decision unanimous. Rockhold actually continued to attack Costa, despite being completely exhausted, sometimes bending over and placing his hands on his knees. It was an ugly performance, despite showing will and determination.
Honestly, it summarizes where Rockhold is in his career now. He still has desires; he still has his mind for the MMA game. But his body doesn’t respond anymore at the age of 37 after 15 years as a professional boxer.
As Rockhold was walking back from the Octagon, his longtime comrade Daniel Cormier left his broadcast spot and embraced the Rockhold. The two are part of a dynasty at the American Kickboxing Academy that includes the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Cain Velasquez. At one point, Rockhold was considered as good as his teammates. He’s the best middleweight in Strikeforce history, holding that title. And he beat it impressively Chris Weidman in 2015 to win the UFC middleweight belt.
That was seven years ago and many expected the Rockhold to have a long reign at the top. He was far ahead of the best 185-pound boxer in the world at the time. But in his next match, Rockhold was extremely upset and was defeated by Michael Bisping. Unfortunately, Rockhold hasn’t been the same since. At his best, Rockhold is one of the most skilled middleweights in history – he can knock you down on his feet, wrestle the best of them and have the ability to wrestle ends the match. If this is his career (he doesn’t know after the battle if that was the case), best remember him for his victories over Weidman, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Tim Kennedy and his deft finish with Bisping in their first fight. – Marc Raimondi
Jose Aldo are not need to retire, but now it seems heavy
Let me be clear. Aldo has just had a three-match winning streak and it doesn’t look like he’s been outmatched by Dvalishvili at all. Obviously he’s still a very competitive competitor. But as always, you have to ask yourself why he has to fight back. He said his ultimate goal is to retire as a champion, and if he arrives early on Saturday, he will need to sit down with his team to determine his future. me.
Aldo still looks fast on Saturday, but he doesn’t look fast as we’ve always known him to be. He looks hungry and ready to put it on the line when he gets down to the scorecard, but he doesn’t seem to have that. dig that could have been there earlier in his career for something to happen. We could see the first signs of a drop, and if that’s the case, there’s really no reason to continue. If he wants to retire in Brazil in January, which I can certainly see him wanting, the sport will accept that. It’s always a moving thing when a legend decides how he wants to play. Aldo had reached that point. – Brett Okamoto
What’s next? Tyson Pedro?
Pedro has now had his first round knockouts in a row since returning to the Octagon against Ike Villanueva in April. In both matches, although not lasting, Pedro showed improved patience and control. He’s the type of fighter that won’t let these two wins happen to him. I think he will continue to work on improving and developing his game.
With only eight fights under his belt in the UFC and just getting back into the sport, it’s best for him to find his footing. Going into this fight, Pedro faced tough competition as he fought from 2016 to 2018, but with such a long layoff, he’s relatively new back.
The UFC may consider giving him a hit against a ranked opponent in his next bout and a case could be made that he and Dustin Jacoby will be a good match. Sometimes after a fighter shows the same expression as Pedro had in the previous two appearances, the fighter can rush in to face more notable opponents. But the best progression for him will be matches that allow him to slowly work his way up and get things back on track. He’s still in his prime, so if he can take his time trying to climb the leaderboards, he’s less likely to get pushed too fast too soon. – Megan Anderson
