UFC 278 main card: Kamaru Usman defends against Leon Edwards in headliner, Paulo Costa vs. Luke Rockhold set as co-main

MMA Fighting

Kamaru Usman goes for title defense No. 6 at UFC 278.

The main card for the UFC’s Aug. 20 pay-per-view has been announced with Usman defending his welterweight championship against Leon Edwards in the headliner. The bout is a rematch of a December 2015 bout that Usman won by unanimous decision.

Usman is currently the No. 1 welterweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings and the No. 2 fighter in the Pound-for-Pound Rankings. He is coming off of a unanimous decision win over rival Colby Covington at UFC 268 this past November, a victory that extended his undefeated streak to 19 straight fights.

Edwards has not lost since dropping that decision to Usman, going 10 straight appearances without a loss. He holds recent wins over Nate Diaz, Rafael dos Anjos, and Gunnar Nelson.

In the UFC 278 co-main event, one-time middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa welcomes former UFC champion Luke Rockhold back to the octagon. Costa looks to snap a two-fight skid, while Rockhold makes his first appearance since July 2019.

Also on the main card, No. 5 Jose Aldo takes on No. 6 Merab Dvalishvili in a bout that could determine the next challenger for the UFC bantamweight title.

UFC 278 takes place Aug. 20 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.

See the full card below.

Main Card (ESPN+ pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET)

Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards

Paulo Costa vs. Luke Rockhold

Jose Aldo vs. Merab Dvalishvili

Marcin Tybura vs. Alexandr Romanov

Tyson Pedro vs. Harry Hunsucker

Preliminary Card (ESPN, ABC, ESPN+ at 8:00 p.m. ET)

Leonardo Santos vs. Jared Gordon

Wu Yanan vs. Lucie Pudilova

Sean Woodson vs. Luis Saldana

Miranda Maverick vs. Shanna Young

Early Prelims (ESPN, ESPN+ at 6:00 p.m. ET)

A.J. Fletcher vs. Ange Loosa

Amir Albazi vs. Francisco Figueiredo

Aoriqileng vs. Jay Perrin

Daniel Da Silva vs. Victor Altamirano

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