Kamaru Usman is favored against Leon Edwards at UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2 on Saturday, August 20 in Salt Lake City, Utah. This event is one of five fights on the main pay-per-view card. Usman is 20-1 in his career, while Edwards is 19-3 in his career. There are a total of 13 fights, with five on Pay-Per-View, four on ESPN/ESPN+ and four on ESPN/ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass at UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2. Let’s look at the bout between Usman and Edwards and UFC predictions.
UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2 takes place at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday, August 20 with 13 fights with five on Pay-Per-View, four on ESPN/ ESPN+ and four on ESPN/ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards II Betting
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Kamaru Usman (20-1, 15-0 UFC)
Usman came into the UFC with a record of 5-1 and he has 15 wins and no losses in the UFC. In his last six fights, he has six wins and no losses. He defeated Tyron Woodley by unanimous decision, Colby Covington by TKO, Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision, Gilbert Burns by TKO, Jorge Masvidal by KO, and Colby Covington by unanimous decision. Usman’s only loss in his career was against Jose Caceres by rear-naked choke submission in May of 2013. Usman has been a pro since 2012 and he has nine wins by TKO/KO and one by submission. He has three first round finishes.
Usman said this to mmafighting.com about his upcoming fight against Edwards, “There’s just something about Leon. I respect him so much, he’s a great competitor, tough guy. He’s grinding through it. I’ve said it before, when I’m inside that octagon, I’m the judge, jury, and I will be the executioner. When he said those things, boom. It stuck with me and its there to where I replay the whole first fight. Replay his attitude, his mood, his demeanor, and hey, he gave me a little shove in that first fight. I’m still not over it. And I don’t feel like I got enough in that first fight. There’s tons of motivation in this fight to go out there and do what I do.”
Leon Edwards (19-3, 11-2 UFC)
Edwards came into the UFC with a record of 8-1 and he has 11 wins and two losses in the UFC. In his last six fights, he has six wins and no losses. He defeated Bryan Barberena by unanimous decision, Peter Sobotta by TKO, Donald Cerrone by unanimous decision, Gunnar Nelson by split decision, Rafael dos Anjos by unanimous decision, and Nate Diaz by unanimous decision. Edwards’ last loss in his career was against Kamaru Usman by unanimous decision in December of 2015. Edwards has been a pro since 2011 and he has six wins by TKO/KO and three by submission. He has four first round finishes.
Edwards said this to lowkickmma.com about his upcoming fight against Usman, “I’m not overcomplicating it to make it bigger than what it is, obviously it’s for the world title but this is my fourth main event for the UFC. I’m going in there to approach it as that, getting my revenge and also win the belt which is the bonus. That’s how I’m approaching it. I think his wrestling and what he does is pretty basic, it’s nothing like Khabib (Nurmagomedov) or anything like that. He trains on being tough and the stronger opponent in the cage, but his last three opponents are all built like lightweights. I’m going to be one of the biggest guys he’s fought, a rangy southpaw that has great grappling.”
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Usman 4.66 / Edwards 2.62
Striking Accuracy: Usman 52% / Edwards 49%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Usman 2.59 / Edwards 2.15
Defense: Usman 58% / Edwards 55%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Usman 3.00 / Edwards 1.48
Takedown Accuracy: Usman 49% / Edwards 35%
Takedowns defended: Usman 100% / Edwards 70%
Submission average: Usman 0.1 / Edwards 0.3
UFC Picks
I can’t see a path to victory for Edwards, as Usman is simply the better fighter. The problem I have is that I don’t like to lay big prices and Usman is listed at nearly 4-1. I think Usman gets the win, but since I don’t want to lay the big money, I’ll look at the rounds. Neither Usman nor Edwards is a great finisher and there is a good chance this fight goes the distance, so I’ll take the fight to go over the rounds total.
DATE
FIGHTERS
MONEY LINE
08/20
Leon Edwards
+286
Kamaru Usman
-390
08/20
Luke Rockhold
+261
Paulo Costa
-350
08/20
Merab Dvalishvili
-130
Jose Aldo
+100
08/20
Marcin Tybura
+360
Alexandr Romanov
-515
08/20
Harry Hunsucker
+513
Tyson Pedro
-825
08/20
Leonardo Santos
+214
Jared Gordon
-280
08/20
Yanan Wu
+100
Lucie Pudilova
-130
08/20
Luis Saldana
+254
Sean Woodson
-340
08/20
Shanna Young
+405
Miranda Maverick
-600
08/20
Ange Loosa
+124
AJ Fletcher
-155
08/20
Francisco Figueiredo
+292
Amir Albazi
-400
08/20
Jay Perrin
+131
Qileng Aori
-165
08/20
Daniel da Silva
+146
Victor Altamirano
-185
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