By Victor Kanayo
Leon Edwards became the second British champion in UFC history on Sunday morning after he knocked out Kamaru Usman in Salt Lake City.
Edwards landed a fierce head kick with just a minute left.
The Brit was down on the scorecards but won the UFC Welterweight title out of nowhere.
Pound-for-pound No.1 Usman was looking to make the sixth defence of his title in a rematch against Edwards, seven years after the pair first met in the early stages of their UFC careers.
Since outpointing Edwards in that 2015 meeting, Usman had won 13 consecutive fights whilst the Brit was unbeaten in 10 fights.
Usman wasted no time in taking Edwards down as the fight got underway, but the Brit turned the tables when he landed a takedown of his own and took Usman’s back.
In beating Usman, Birmingham’s Edwards avenged his defeat in 2015 and ends the 35-year-old’s 15-fight unbeaten streak in the UFC.
Jamaican-born Edwards, who was a big underdog with bookmakers going into the bout, extends his winning streak to 10 following the defeat to Usman seven years ago.
Usman won the first fight by using his wrestling to control the majority of the contest – a tactic Edwards says opened his eyes to weaknesses in his own grappling game.
Following that bout Edwards worked hard on his wrestling and the improvements made were evident from the start of the rematch.
In the first round he tripped Usman, becoming the first fighter in UFC history to complete a takedown on the Nigerian.
Usman responded strongly in the second and third round, pressuring Edwards with flurries of strikes and controlling much of the contest with his grappling.
At the end of the round Edwards’ corner loudly urged their fighter to up his game and “get his hands moving”.
Edwards started to show signs of fatigue in the fourth, brought on by the relentless grappling from Usman, as the champion landed an effortless takedown and continued to control the fight.
With Usman likely ahead on points going into the fifth Edwards needed something special – and the Briton delivered.
With a feint he lured Usman’s head to the side, before landing a clean left high-kick, leaving the Nigerian stunned on the canvas.
Edwards jumped on the cage in celebration as the enormity of what he had achieved started to sink in.
