Leon Edwards started his MMA career by fighting his first nine bouts in his adopted home country of England. And in the time since Edwards, who was born in Jamaica and moved with his family to Birmingham when he was 9, joined the UFC in 2014, he has competed four more times in England, the last three of those fights being in London.
So when Edwards steps into the cage at O2 Arena on Saturday, it won’t be a new setting for him. But it will be his first UFC main event in London and it also will be an even bigger milestone than that: Edwards will be defending the UFC welterweight championship on home turf.
Edwards faces former champion Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC 286, a rematch of the fight last August in which Edwards became champ with a fifth-round knockout. This will be their third meeting.
The main card at O2 Arena will be on ESPN+ pay-per-view starting at 5 p.m. ET, with prelims on ESPNews, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 3 p.m. and early prelims on ESPN+ at 1 p.m.
Edwards (20-3, 1 NC) is unbeaten in his past 11 fights. He is No. 7 in the ESPN pound-for-pound men’s rankings.
The fourth-ranked Usman (20-2) saw a 19-fight winning streak come to an end in the Edwards fight last summer. However, among the wins during Usman’s long run of success was a decision over Edwards in 2015 — and Edwards has not lost since.
What are the storylines behind the UFC 286 fights? How are experts breaking them down? What do the fighters have to say? Here is the fight card, how to watch it and a collection of all of the UFC 286 essentials.
UFC 286 fight card
ESPN+ PPV, 5 p.m. ET
Welterweight championship: Leon Edwards (c) vs. Kamaru Usman
Lightweight: Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev
Welterweight: Gunnar Nelson vs. Bryan Barberena
Women’s flyweight: Jennifer Maia vs. Casey O’Neill
Middleweight: Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze
ESPNews/ESPN+, 3 p.m.
Men’s featherweight: Jack Shore vs. Makwan Amirkhani
Lightweight: Chris Duncan vs. Omar Morales
Lightweight: Sam Patterson vs. Yanal Ashmoz
Men’s flyweight: Muhammad Mokaev vs. Jafel Filho
ESPN+, 1 p.m.
Men’s featherweight: Lerone Murphy vs. Gabriel Santos
Middleweight: Christian Duncan vs. Dusko Todorovic
Men’s flyweight: Malcolm Gordon vs. Jake Hadley
Women’s flyweight: Joanne Wood vs. Luana Carolina
Lightweight: Jai Herbert vs. Ludovit Klein
Women’s flyweight: Juliana Miller vs. Veronica Hardy
(c) = defending champion
How to watch the fights
Watch the PPV and all other fights on ESPN+: Get ESPN+ here.
Watch the prelims on ESPNews, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ and early prelims on ESPN+. Download the ESPN App | WatchESPN | TV schedule
Don’t have ESPNews and ESPN Deportes? Get instant access.
Purchased the fight on your phone and want to stream on your TV? Find out how here.
There’s also FightCenter, which offers live updates for every UFC card.
Ranking the fights at UFC 286: ‘The Highlight’ is fighting … and he’s not No. 1
The UFC first visited London in 2002 for an event dubbed “The Brawl at the Hall.” The hall was hallowed old Royal Albert Hall, which prior to Matt Hughes defending his welterweight title against Carlos Newton that night had been best known for appearances by tenacious fighter Sir Winston Churchill and fast-hands Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Since then, the UFC has been back in the English capital 11 more times, producing big moments with important fights. In 2007 at the O2 Arena, there was a champion-vs.-champion main event pitting UFC light heavyweight titlist Quinton “Rampage” Jackson against Pride belt holder Dan Henderson. The pride of Manchester, England, the effervescent Michael Bisping, twice headlined shows at the O2 — although both happened before he became UFC middleweight champ.
And that highlights what the UFC has not delivered to the banks of the Thames until this weekend. UFC 286, the promotion’s 13th visit to London, will bring to town for the first time a homegrown champion.
UFC Real or Not: Was Leon Edwards’ win vs. Kamaru Usman the best kick knockout ever?
SALT LAKE CITY — The fight was all but over. Aside from a takedown and a rear-naked choke attempt in the first round, Leon Edwards was handily losing to Kamaru Usman.
There was less than a minute left. Usman was on the verge of winning his 16th straight UFC fight, tying Anderson Silva’s record. It looked like another dominant performance from the man considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
And then, bam!
Edwards ripped a left head kick and Usman was unconscious on impact. At 4:04 of the fifth and final round, Edwards knocked out the seemingly invincible Usman to snap his historic streak and win the UFC welterweight title Saturday at Vivint Arena. The 18,321 in attendance were stunned and then whipped into a frenzy, chanting Edwards’ “Rocky” nickname.