UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3 | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Tito Wordsmith
- 4 hours ago
- 7 min read
Introduction
UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3 took place on Saturday, March 18, 2023 at the O2 Arena in London, England. It was the trilogy bout of one of the most-discussed welterweight rivalries of the modern era, fought in Leon Edwards's adopted hometown of London in front of a crowd that had waited years to see the Birmingham fighter compete on home soil. The card produced an estimated 550,000 pay-per-view buys.
The series ledger coming in was 1-1: Usman had won the original UFC FN bout in December 2015; Edwards had produced the head-kick KO at UFC 278 in August 2022. The trilogy fight was framed as the definitive settling of the welterweight pound-for-pound debate at 170 lbs. Edwards was the defending champion and the +120 underdog in his own hometown.
The fight went five rounds. Edwards used his striking to control the distance, defended Usman's wrestling pressure through rounds two and three, and edged the championship rounds on volume. Final scorecards: 48-47, 48-47, 47-47 — a majority decision for Edwards. The O2 Arena erupted. The trilogy was settled 2-1 Edwards across three fights spanning eight years.
Contents
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, March 18, 2023
📍 Venue: O2 Arena, London, England
👥 Attendance: 20,789 (full capacity)
💰 Gate: $7.1 million
📺 PPV Buys: ~550,000
📡 Broadcast: Pay-per-view (ESPN+ in USA)
🏆 Main Event: Leon Edwards (c) vs. Kamaru Usman — UFC Welterweight Championship (170 lbs)
✅ Result: Edwards def. Usman via Majority Decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-47)
🥇 Co-Main: Justin Gaethje def. Rafael Fiziev via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) — Lightweight
The Build-Up
The series was 1-1 coming in. Usman had beaten Edwards by UD at UFC FN in December 2015 in their first meeting, when Edwards took the fight on short notice. Edwards had produced one of the most dramatic finishes in UFC history — the fifth-round head-kick KO with 56 seconds left at UFC 278 — to take the title in August 2022. The trilogy fight was framed as the definitive settling of the welterweight debate: who was genuinely the better fighter?
The venue was the O2 Arena in London — Edwards's adopted home city and the most partisan crowd the welterweight division had seen since the Liverpool fights of the early 2010s. Edwards had trained in Birmingham and fought out of London for his entire UFC career; this was his first major UFC PPV in the UK. Betting opened Usman at -150; the line drifted to Edwards -120 by fight night as the crowd factor and Usman's post-UFC 278 momentum questions weighed on the market.
The co-main featured Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev — two of the most feared strikers in the lightweight division. Gaethje was coming off his UFC 274 submission loss to Oliveira; Fiziev was 12-1 with six consecutive UFC wins. The fight was framed as a lightweight title eliminator.
Main Event: Edwards vs. Usman 3
Round one was competitive. Edwards used his striking volume to control the distance through the first three minutes, landing clean jabs and counter lefts. Usman scored a takedown at 3:30 that Edwards scrambled out of within 30 seconds. The judges had it 10-9 Edwards.
Rounds two and three were Usman's. The former champion's wrestling pressure was relentless — he scored takedowns in each round, controlled top position, and landed sustained ground-and-pound. Edwards's striking output dropped in both rounds; his takedown defense struggled against Usman's pace. The judges had it 29-28 Usman entering round four.
Rounds four and five were Edwards's. The champion's cardio advantage was clear in the championship rounds; Usman's wrestling output dropped as his gas tank faded. Edwards landed sustained combinations against the cage in round four and outpointed Usman on volume in round five. The O2 Arena crowd drove the champion forward. The judges had the final two rounds clearly for Edwards.
Final scorecards: 48-47, 48-47, 47-47. A majority decision for Leon Edwards. The O2 Arena erupted. The trilogy was settled 2-1 Edwards across three fights spanning eight years and three completely different fight narratives. In his post-fight interview, Edwards pointed to the crowd: "That's what this is for. Birmingham. London. This is for the UK."
Edwards would defend the title again against Colby Covington at UFC 296 in December 2023 (UD) before losing it to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 in Manchester in July 2024 (UD). Usman went on to face Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in October 2023 (UD loss at middleweight on short notice) and has remained a top-five welterweight into the mid-2020s without a title shot.
Co-Main Event: Gaethje vs. Fiziev
Justin Gaethje dominated three rounds of technical striking. He used his leg kicks and his body work to control distance through rounds one and two; Fiziev's counter striking was sharp but too infrequent to win rounds. Round three was Gaethje's most dominant — he pressed forward with sustained volume and avoided the wild exchanges Fiziev needed. Final scorecards: 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 Gaethje. The win positioned him for the BMF belt fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 in July 2023.
Full Results
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Leon Edwards (c) def. Kamaru Usman — Majority Decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-47) — Welterweight Title
Justin Gaethje def. Rafael Fiziev — Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) — Lightweight
Belal Muhammad def. Vicente Luque — TKO (punches) — R1, 2:10 — Welterweight
Marvin Vettori def. Roman Dolidze — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Middleweight
Gunnar Nelson def. Bryan Barberena — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Welterweight
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Arnold Allen def. Movsar Evloev — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Featherweight
Molly McCann def. Julija Stoliarenko — Submission (rear-naked choke) — R2, 2:18 — Women's Strawweight
Muhammad Mokaev def. Nathaniel Wood — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Flyweight
Marc Diakiese def. Jamie Mullarkey — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Lightweight
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Performance of the Night: Belal Muhammad — $50,000 for the first-round TKO of Vicente Luque.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Molly McCann — $50,000 for the second-round rear-naked choke submission of Julija Stoliarenko.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Gunnar Nelson — $50,000 for his unanimous-decision win over Bryan Barberena on home-adjacent soil in London.
Records & Milestones
• Edwards-Usman trilogy settled 2-1 Edwards across three fights spanning eight years.
• UFC's biggest London card to date — 20,789 attendance at the O2 Arena.
• Belal Muhammad's TKO of Vicente Luque — positioned him as the #1 welterweight contender, a status he would use to claim the title at UFC 304 in July 2024.
• First major UFC PPV held in London since UFC 204 in October 2016 — the promotion's return to the UK was anchored by a British champion defending his title.
Legacy & Impact
UFC 286 is remembered as the night Leon Edwards settled the welterweight debate definitively in his adopted hometown of London. The majority-decision win — in front of the most partisan British crowd the UFC had seen since the Liverpool cards of the early 2010s — confirmed Edwards's place as the dominant welterweight of the post-Usman era. The trilogy's 2-1 ledger in Edwards's favour was the most-discussed welterweight series of the modern era.
For Leon Edwards, the win was the second of two successful title defenses. He defended again against Colby Covington at UFC 296 in December 2023 (UD) before losing the title to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 in Manchester in July 2024 (UD). His championship reign lasted approximately 23 months across three defenses.
For Kamaru Usman, UFC 286 was the formal close of his welterweight championship narrative. He went on to face Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in October 2023 (UD loss at middleweight on short notice) and has remained a top-five welterweight contender into the mid-2020s without another UFC title shot. He retired from active competition in 2025.
For Belal Muhammad, the TKO of Vicente Luque was the launching pad for his title shot. He defeated Usman's former contender Sean Brady at UFC 280 and beat Edwards at UFC 304 in Manchester in July 2024 to win the welterweight title.
FAQ
Was the majority decision controversial?
Somewhat. The 47-47 draw card was disputed by some observers; most independent scorers had it 48-47 for one fighter or the other. The fight genuinely came down to how rounds two and three were weighted against Edwards's championship rounds four and five. Usman won the wrestling-control rounds; Edwards won the volume-striking rounds. The majority decision was defensible; the 47-47 card reflected the genuine closeness of the bout.
How did the Edwards-Usman trilogy shape the welterweight division?
Definitively. The three-fight series established Edwards as the dominant welterweight of the post-2022 era and closed Usman's championship window permanently. The subsequent division was shaped by the contenders who had orbited the two men — Belal Muhammad, Colby Covington, Shavkat Rakhmonov — rather than a Usman comeback. The Edwards-Usman series is the most comprehensive welterweight rivalry of the modern era: one short-notice early bout, one all-time KO, one close London decision, spanning 2015 to 2023.
Did Edwards keep the title after UFC 286?
He defended once more — against Colby Covington at UFC 296 in December 2023 (UD) — then lost the title to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 in Manchester in July 2024 (UD). His championship reign lasted approximately 23 months and three title defenses.
What happened to Usman after UFC 286?
He accepted a short-notice middleweight bout against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in October 2023 (UD loss). He has not fought since and retired from active competition in 2025 with a 20-3 career record and one of the most dominant title reigns in welterweight history (five defenses from 2019 to 2022).
How does UFC 286 compare to UFC 285?
UFC 286 drew approximately 550,000 PPV buys versus UFC 285 (750,000) two weeks earlier — a 200,000-buy drop reflecting the absence of a Jon Jones-caliber draw. The London venue, the UK-centric crowd, and the trilogy framing produced a strong European market but lower North American PPV numbers than the Jones debut.
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