MMA

Tony Ferguson will have the chance to end his four-fight losing streak in September.

UFC President Dana White told reporters Saturday that Ferguson will face Li Jingliang at UFC 279 in Las Vegas on Sept. 10 in a welterweight bout.

Dating back to May 2020, the 38-year-old Ferguson (25-7) has lost to Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush and Michael Chandler. That followed a 12-fight winning streak that included beating Kevin Lee in 2017 to win the interim lightweight title.

Ferguson was later stripped of the title because of injury. Only Khabib Nurmagomedov has matched that winning streak in UFC history.

Ferguson and Nurmagomedov had been scheduled to face on several occasions during Ferguson's lengthy win streak, only for the matchups to be canned for various reasons, including complications presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before his recent struggles, Ferguson had been 15-1 in the UFC and emerged as one of the promotion's most popular and respected fighters. He last fought in the welterweight division back in 2011.

Guess🥜What?!? - Champ 🥇
-CSO- 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 @danawhite @ufc pic.twitter.com/WlZMlvmkhB

— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) August 20, 2022

The 34-year-old Li (19-7) is 11-5 in the UFC and has alternated between wins and losses in his last five fights. He most recently defeated Muslim Salikhov by TKO in July.

UFC 279 is set to be a major draw, with Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev headlining the event. Johnny Walker is also set to take on Ion Cutelaba, while Irene Aldana will fight Macy Chiasson, among other matchups.+

It's safe to say Paulo Costa wasn't a fan of Luke Rockhold smearing blood on his face near the end of their UFC 278 fight Saturday.

"I didn't see it in the moment of the fight," Costa told reporters. "I just felt something on my face, but I was so worried about blocking his arms to not get elbowed in the face and punched. But I felt something. ... Now, when I saw, it's a very disgusting scene. It's a very weird moment."

Despite the "weird moment," Costa earned the victory by unanimous decision by scores of 30-27.

"I don't know why Luke did that," he added. "Maybe he was so frustrated and angry because he was losing the fight. But I took a very long shower after the fight."

Costa is 14-2 in his career, and Saturday represented a solid bounce-back effort after he lost to Marvin Vettori and Israel Adesanya in his previous two fights.

While he was in control throughout the matchup with Rockhold, his performance will likely be overshadowed by the bloody antics of his opponent.

UFC President Dana White is looking for a big audience in a third bout between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman.

White told reporters after Edwards' stunning win Saturday at UFC 278 that he wants the trilogy matchup to take place in England, with Wembley Stadium considered a possibility, per Mike Bohn of USA Today.

Edwards is just the second English fighter to win a UFC belt and said Saturday he wants his title defense in his home country:

Leon Edwards wants his first title defense to take place in England and explains what it means to be the the first British champ who won the belt training on his home soil. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #UFC278 pic.twitter.com/uS5rncVWzL

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) August 21, 2022

The 30-year-old lost his first match against Usman in 2015 but earned the rematch win Saturday with a knockout in the final minute of the fifth round.

Edwards has been on a tear since his first loss to Usman, winning 10 of 11 bouts with one no-contest.

Usman was even better with 15 straight wins entering Saturday, ranked the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC. He had six successful title defenses after winning the welterweight belt in 2019.

It makes another bout between the two a no-brainer, with Usman looking to redeem himself after his second career loss and first in the UFC.

Wembley Stadium would certainly represent a memorable venue with 90,000 seats, although the weather could be a factor in an outside event.

"I’m scared to go outside, and I’m definitely scared to go outside in England," White said.

Regardless of the location, the third battle will undoubtedly be one of the most highly anticipated UFC matchups in years.

Leon Edwards stunned the MMA world on Saturday night, knocking out Kamaru Usman in the fifth round of their welterweight title fight at UFC 278.

But as he told reporters after the bout, he didn't feel as though he performed particularly well:

"Going into it, I knew it was going to be a tough fight. I said it all week. But I believe I was the better man—but even though it was one my worst performances, it is what it is, I got a clean finish. ... My body just wasn't reacting the way it was meant to react. I don't know if it was the altitude or not, but when I was backstage watching the other guys fight on TV, everyone was getting tired and gassing out. I was like, 'Why is everyone getting tired?' When I went out there after the first round I felt it. My body just wasn't reacting.

"It wasn't a cardio issue, it was just like my body wasn't reacting. But I stayed focused, my coaches spurred me on and kept reminding me, 'You're still in the fight, you are the best, and fight until the end.' That combination I was drilling with my coaches, that left-cross head kick, and it landed perfectly."

It appeared as though Usman was heading for a straightforward decision after winning the fight's middle three rounds. He was in control in the final frame as well, until an Edwards kick caught him with just 56 seconds remaining and knocked out the UFC's top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter.

The kick heard 'round the world 🌎

[ @Leon_EdwardsMMA | #UFC278 ] pic.twitter.com/GfmX7pBnj6

— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2022

It was a result that left fighters around the sport in amazement:

OMG @Leon_edwardsmma 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

— Ciryl Gane (@ciryl_gane) August 21, 2022

The kick heard around the world! 😳🤯 Congrats @Leon_edwardsmma! Trilogy fight coming soon! Respect to @USMAN84kg #UFC278

— TJ Dillashaw (@TJDillashaw) August 21, 2022

Man this sport is unpredictable 😭😭😭

— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) August 21, 2022

Usman Seconds of away from retaining the belt and an INSANE headkick KO from Leon Edwards! WOW! Jamaica 🇯🇲has another UFC champion! I smell a trilogy!! #UFC278

— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) August 21, 2022

An amazing scene to witness! Huge congrats Leon! A real good, solid and dedicated mixed martial artist! The uk’s second only ufc champion! Incredible! Congrats mate! @ParadigmSports

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) August 21, 2022

It seems likely that a rematch will follow and put a cap on the trilogy, with Usman winning their first fight back in 2015. And if Edwards' body is reacting better in that fight, Usman might be in trouble again.

Kamaru Usman looked well on his way to defending his welterweight title for the sixth time.

Until he wasn't.

Leon Edwards landed a shocking head kick in the final round to stun Usman in the UFC 278 main event. All the momentum was in the other corner before the kick after the champion scored multiple takedowns and was in full control.

LEON EDWARDS JUST FINISHED KAMARU USMAN IN THE FINAL MINUTE OF THE FIFTH ROUND 😱 pic.twitter.com/36PcIK2T0j

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 21, 2022

UFC President Dana White went as far as to tell reporters Usman fought "the perfect fight" until everything changed.

"You think of everything that was on the line for Usman tonight, and Usman fought with absolute and total confidence all night," White said. "He fought the perfect fight. It might not be the most fan-friendly style, but he was landing big shots to the body, big shots to the head, elbows. Couldn't have fought a more perfect fight until the last minute."

White also suggested the third fight of a trilogy is on the way since Usman defeated Edwards in 2015 and seemed to be the better fighter Saturday before the kick.

But until then, Edwards is the champion.

After a stunning upset over Kamaru Usman, Leon Edwards unsurprisingly earned a $50,000 bonus for Performance of the Night at UFC 278, per Jed Meshew of MMA Fighting.

Usman entered Saturday as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC rankings, but it was Edwards who left with the welterweight title after a knockout in the final minute of the fifth round.

A Nigerian nightmare courtesy of @Leon_EdwardsMMA 💥 #UFC278 pic.twitter.com/M8pTzpG2Pf

— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2022

It gave Edwards the biggest win of his career as well as an added bonus from the pay-per-view.

Victor Altamirano earned the other Performance of the Night bonus from UFC 278 after a first-round knockout over Daniel Lacerda in the preliminary card. The 31-year-old was competing in just his second UFC bout after losing to Carlos Hernandez in his February debut, but he showed his talent Saturday.

Paulo Costa and Luke Rockhold each took home Fight of the Night bonuses after their three-round battle that Costa won by unanimous decision. Costa earned the same bonus after his hard-fought win over Yoel Romero in 2019.

It was the end of the fourth round. The columns were all half-written, the bets five minutes from cashing. Kamaru Usman was comfortably ahead on the scorecards and cruising to a sixth consecutive defense of his UFC welterweight title. The end was just five minutes of formality, of the continued slow crush of Usman's dominance away.

And no one seemed to know it more than poor Leon Edwards.

"A dejected challenger," observed color commentator Joe Rogan.

"Yeah," agreed fellow broadcaster Daniel Cormier.

The fifth began with the broadcasters predicting Edwards was far behind on the scorecards and that the challenger would need to find a stoppage to win. They talked about moral victories, about the accomplishment of going 25 minutes with maybe the sport's greatest reigning champion.

In the round's opening moments, Din Thomas, another valuable part of the broadcast team, said, "If it wasn't obvious enough, Leon is broken now...he's embarrassed from his own performance."

On further inspection, Edwards did indeed appear to be wearing what we used to call a thousand-yard stare.

But then, there was a cracking sound. And there was Usman, on the mat, looking sightlessly up at the lights.

The champ had just ducked into a perfectly disguised left high kick from Edwards. And there he was, separated from his senses. The cleanest knockout you could ever hope to see. And there was no more roof on the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.

With a mere 56 seconds remaining in the contest, we had a UFC welterweight champion, and his name was Leon Edwards.

"I can't put it into words, Joe," an ecstatic Edwards told Rogan in the cage after the fight. "For years you all doubted me and said I couldn't do it. You all said I couldn't do it. Look at me now! … God is on my side. I've said it all week: this is my moment."

You can't fault those commentators in hindsight; they were speaking for everyone watching. Edwards had the look of a beaten man and Usman had the look of an absolute master of his craft, plying his trade en route to another convincing win. Recalling their observations isn't meant to cast aspersions on this so much as it is to capture the mood in the arena and between the two combatants, which they accurately did.

Until that fateful moment, the first round was easily Edwards' best. Each man exchanged kicks early (kicks were a critical weapon for Edwards in all five rounds) and with Usman plying his bread and butter: takedowns and control time on the mat or along the fence. When Edwards landed a trip takedown, he became the first man to take Usman down in the UFC, ending the champ's perfect 100 percent takedown defense rate.

I'm giving the 1st round to Leon Edwards. That was a nice leg trip by Leon to complete the takedown. He's the first fighter to takedown Kamaru Usman. #UFC278

— ⚜ WHO DAT Cool Breesy ⚜ (@Steve2duhO) August 21, 2022

Likely sensing he may have lost a round, Usman ratcheted up the pressure in Round 2. This was the champ's highest-output striking round, per UFC stats, as he outlanded Edwards 36-20 in significant strikes. Usman repeatedly walked Edwards down against the cage and then chopped at the head and body as Edwards covered up.

The third and fourth unfurled in classic Usman fashion. Whenever Edwards regained his verticality, he was quickly dumped on his backside again or ate an elbow for his troubles. In these two rounds, Usman amassed six minutes and 14 seconds of control time, well over half of the total 10 minutes of combined action.

As confirmed after the fact, the judges all gave Edwards the first and Usman the second, third and fourth, making the last stanza a make-or-break proposition for the challenger. And even though his face was blank and his eyes were glassy, he still appears to have gotten the message.

Usman/Edwards scorecards.
All 3 judges had identical scorecards. 39-37.#UFC278 pic.twitter.com/ppBV2VpF9G

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 21, 2022

Usman had taken the drama out of the proceedings. And then, with a minute remaining in the final round, when Edwards threw that straight left hand and convinced Usman to duck into a head kick, he put it all back in and then some.

https://twitter.com/shannonsharpeee/status/1561216007376556032

Yes. Some people will say Edwards was still not the better fighter that night, that a fluky shot is what has him leaving with the gold.

Don’t strut bud. That performance sucked until it didn’t. #UFC278

— Jen (@Jmadams03) August 21, 2022

That's not inaccurate. But it doesn't change the fact that this kind of thing is baked into the sport. It's the special sauce of MMA: so many things can happen.

And for those who saw Edwards shock everybody who was watching, this can't help but be an all-time come-from-behind win. There were plenty of other upsets that happened in the face of longer statistical odds—Edwards was "only" about +260—but this is up there for out-of-nowhere, snatching-victory-from-jaws-of-defeat victories.

Odds on Edwards by KO/TKO in Round 5: +5000 (via @FanDuelCanada)

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) August 21, 2022

Anderson Silva's Hail Mary triangle choke on Chael Sonnen in 2010 probably rules the genre. The second and third Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard fights were great. Going back to the venerable Pride days, Fedor Emelianenko coming back in 2004 after Kevin Randleman nearly slammed him into unconsciousness is another good one.

There are plenty to choose from, and this fight just joined that rarefied list. This is more fun than marching slowly toward Usman's date with Khamzat Chimaev, assuming the phenom got past beloved but fading Nate Diaz at UFC 279 next month. That day will come, but these delightfully, quintessentially MMA detours are always part of the story.

So forget about Chimaev for now. UFC President Dana White said afterward that he's ready to make the Usman-Edwards rubber match, and to make it in Edwards' native England.

Dana White says he wants to do the Usman/Edwards rematch in England.#UFC278 pic.twitter.com/Tqk8f5ZdgU

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 21, 2022

It's good to be the champion, and Edwards has earned his way here. No matter what happens the third time around, Edwards will always have one of the company's most thrilling title wins in history.