After tonight’s victory at UFC 286, Leon Edwards has now earned two outstanding dubs in a row over the former P4P king Kamaru Usman. The MMA community was quick to react to Rocky’s dominant and remarkable victory.
In The O2 Arena in London, on the main card of UFC 286, The Nigerian Nightmare and Rocky fought each other for the third time. Edwards, the current welterweight champion, successfully defended his title against Usman, the division’s consensus No. 1 fighter.
How did the MMA community respond to Leon Edward’s victory over Kamaru Usman?
On the heels of the spectacular title battle that took place in the main event of UFC 286, prominent UFC fighters and a plethora of other MMA personalities turned to Twitter to share their thoughts and views. The following section of the article includes some of the responses that have been posted on Twitter.
Cody Durden must have been disappointed as he predicted, ”Main event time! Former pound-for-pound MMA fighter Usman is about to get his title back!”
I feel like @USMAN84kg main goal tonight: is to make the O2 arena go silent 🤫 #UFC286
— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) March 18, 2023
Retired MMA fighter Alan Jouban pointed out the moment when the momentum shifted away from Leon saying, ”Leon fouling and kind of disputing it is a lack of focus. You can see the momentum shifting away.”
Damn lost a point and still won I thought it was a close flight, good fight fellas.
— U R I A H H A L L (@UriahHallMMA) March 19, 2023
👀👀👀👀👀👀👀 #ufc286
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) March 18, 2023
The current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jamahal Hill tweeted praising Edwards saying, ”Leon is playing this perfectly!!! Make him find the range be the longer fighter!!!”
#andstill 🔥- Not surprising for me ! Congrats @Leon_edwardsmma #ufc286
— Alex "Poatan" Pereira (@AlexPereiraUFC) March 19, 2023
great fight from both he really is Rocky🔥🔥🔥🔥 #ufc286
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) March 19, 2023
Christopher James Weidman, former UFC Middleweight Champion tweeted, ”Wow! With the point! These are one of these fights I gotta watch back again tomorrow. I thought Usman won.”
I want Leon next, October in Abu Dhabi 👊🏼
— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) March 19, 2023
I got Leon but what if there’s a draw #UFC286
— Brandon (@brandonroyval) March 19, 2023
Current UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Antoine Sterling also tweeted his reaction saying, ”I think the point deduction is the deciding factor. I think Edwards wins this closely or it’s a draw? What y’all think?”
Leon won
— C H🖕🏽T O🇪🇨V E R A (@chitoveraUFC) March 19, 2023
Dirty fighter
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) March 18, 2023
Welterweight fighter Belal Muhammad with a different opinion tweeted, ”I gave it usman especially with the point.”
great fight from both he really is Rocky🔥🔥🔥🔥 #ufc286
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) March 19, 2023
Draw at the belt and they do it a 4th time for the second time in history!!!
— Jamahal Hill (@JamahalH) March 19, 2023
One really significant fact to note here is how most fighters scored the fights extremely close. Will we actually see another quadropology? With Leon picking up the win it’s highly unlikely as the Englishman now trails his Nigerian rival by 2-1. UFC also doesn’t seem interested in running the bout back as Colby Covington has been given the next shot at the title.
Dana White announced during the #UFC286 post-fight press conference that Colby Covington will get a title shot next against Leon Edwards 👀
WHAT A MATCHUP 🔥 pic.twitter.com/JHAIHZvd5z
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 19, 2023
What is your opinion on the UFC 286 main event?