{"id":1049,"date":"2023-03-19T08:58:43","date_gmt":"2023-03-19T07:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/?p=1049"},"modified":"2023-03-19T12:16:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-19T11:16:48","slug":"ufc-286-leon-edwards-keeps-his-title-against-a-slow-moving-kamaru-usman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/ufc-286-leon-edwards-keeps-his-title-against-a-slow-moving-kamaru-usman\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC 286: Leon Edwards keeps his title against a slow-moving Kamaru Usman"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Leon Edwards retained his welterweight title by winning a majority decision over Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 on Saturday in London.<\/h4>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">AND STILL!!! LEON SILENCES THE DOUBTERS!!!! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UFC286?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#UFC286<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kPEEGQChss\">pic.twitter.com\/kPEEGQChss<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; UFC (@ufc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ufc\/status\/1637244395450773507?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 19, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was the third chapter in a rivalry that took an unexpected turn last summer when Edwards suffered a violent knockout. to Usman, with 56 seconds left in the final round. Usman had largely led Edwards in 2015, en route to easy unanimous decision success.<\/h4>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Spider-Man! \ud83d\udd78\ufe0f<\/p>\n<p>Tom Holland caught up with <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Leon_edwardsmma?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Leon_EdwardsMMA<\/a> backstage. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UFC286?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#UFC286<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3vwhjrFvqF\">pic.twitter.com\/3vwhjrFvqF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; UFC (@ufc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ufc\/status\/1637254419451645952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 19, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cI dodged his leads, blocked his kicks and my shots were sharper. I knew it was tight but I kept the pressure on him,\u201d Edwards said.<\/h4>\n<blockquote><p>Former interim champion Covington, who lost to Usman in 2019 and 2021, dismissed both fighters as &#8220;idiots&#8221; and said he would be willing to step into the cage at a moment&#8217;s notice \u2013 but Edwards seemed bemused and said he would decide his next defence after a deserved win when his only moment of concern was a one-point deduction for holding the cage.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/ufc\/status\/1637245274216120322<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div id=\"MM_DISPLAY_MANAGER_AD_DYNAMIC-2-6\"><\/div>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8220;I thought I had done enough but I knew it was close,&#8221; Usman said of his side. \u201cHe had a great game plan. I&#8217;m not finished, we&#8217;ll meet again. But I must say that London, you have quite a champion. \u00bb<\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\">We felt Usman almost frozen and very slow in the first two rounds, and he took a big knee on the second assault with a good left hook. Usman had a bit of a boost, but Edwards remained more precise and calculating.<\/h4>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As the changing of the guard is completed, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/USMAN84kg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Usman84kg<\/a> pays his respects to Leon Edwards \ud83d\udc4f <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UFC286?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#UFC286<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3BBZLCT6Hf\">pic.twitter.com\/3BBZLCT6Hf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; UFC (@ufc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ufc\/status\/1637245681403396098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 19, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Usman landed a highly technical third-round takedown in the first minute, but Edwards got up easily with the help of the fence, losing him a crucial point in a round dominated by the ex-champ . The rhythm of the fight was more than once broken this evening due to warnings against Edwards for blows below the belt and for grabbing his opponent&#8217;s gloves.<\/h4>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">2\ufe0f\u20e35\ufe0f\u20e3 minutes in the books!<\/p>\n<p>Drop those scorecards NOW \ud83d\udcdd <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UFC286?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#UFC286<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zPXEkDIpEC\">pic.twitter.com\/zPXEkDIpEC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; UFC (@ufc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ufc\/status\/1637243776291815424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 19, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the fourth, Usman got hot when he lost his balance throwing a kick that Edwards tried to block. Edwards was more accurate overall and he excelled at defending the leads. On the fifth onslaught, he continued to throw good high kicks to keep Usman at bay.<\/h4>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">THIS SHIT IS PERSONAL \ud83d\udd25 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UFC286?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#UFC286<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hPD7onEiIp\">pic.twitter.com\/hPD7onEiIp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; UFC (@ufc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ufc\/status\/1637235364438978561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 18, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gaethje wakes up in time<\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Justin Gaethje survived a slow start to win a majority decision over Rafael Fiziev in an excellent lightweight duel.<\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\">The judges handed cards 29-28, 29-28, 28-28.<\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cHe was a perfect dance partner, it was sure to be entertaining. He&#8217;s young and hungry, he&#8217;s a dangerous guy,\u201d Gaethje pointed out.<\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8220;I&#8217;m doing one last race for the title, but I won&#8217;t be here for very long,&#8221; then warned the 34-year-old athlete.<\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fiziev was very explosive with quick combinations in the first round, while Gaethje hit the target less with his fists apart from some good kicks.<\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gaethje got stronger at the start of the second bout, but Fiziev continued to land big shots with consistency.<\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gaethje got rattled again to start the third, but he still landed some accurate jabs. Accustomed to violent wars, he showed all his endurance and finally exploded in time while Fiziev let himself be led without really replying. After a first takedown which did not succeed, the American completed one in the last seconds.<\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8220;Your punches are a damn shame,&#8221; Fiziev complimented as he went to see Gaethje before the decision was made.<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leon Edwards retained his welterweight title by winning a majority decision over Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 on Saturday in London. AND STILL!!! LEON SILENCES THE DOUBTERS!!!! #UFC286 pic.twitter.com\/kPEEGQChss &mdash; UFC (@ufc) March 19, 2023 It was the third chapter in a rivalry that took an unexpected turn last summer when Edwards suffered a violent [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1049","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ufc-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1049"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1049"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1052,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1049\/revisions\/1052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}