UFC: Kamaru Usman to defend title August 20

With his title on the line, welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is set to face the No.2 ranked contender, Leon Edwards, in a rematch slated to headline UFC 278 on August 20 from the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The UFC confirmed the pairing of Usman and Edwards on their official Twitter account as well as during the broadcast for UFC 275.

In their first meeting back in December 2015 as part of a UFC Fight Night Orlando event, Usman managed to defeat Edwards with a unanimous decision win over the course of three rounds, early into the pair’s respective UFC tenures.

In his most recent Octagon appearance back in November last year, Usman successfully landed his sixth defence of the welterweight title – defeating former interim gold holder, Colby Covington, with a unanimous decision win.

For Edwards, the Birmingham native has enjoyed a 10-fight undefeated run since his UFC Orlando defeat to Usman seven years ago, most recently defeating Nate Diaz at UFC 263 last June.

In prior title defenses, Usman, a native of Auchi, Nigeria – successfully handed losses to Covington (x2), Jorge Masvidal (x2), and former Sanford MMA training partner, Gilbert Burns. Punch