Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards – Preview & Matchup Analysis

UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2 is scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 20, 2022, in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. In one of the matchups on the fight card, Kamaru “The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman will take on Leon “Rocky” Edwards in the UFC Welterweight Title Bout. You can view the full UFC 278 card.

In this post, we will break down Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards matchup. Let’s take look at the fighter’s ages, their height, records, reach, fight stats, and more below ⤵

The 36-year-old, Kamaru Usman is coming in with a 20-1-0 record. Usman will be fighting for the first time since a win via unanimous decision against Colby Covington at UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2 in November.

Edwards, meanwhile, is coming off a unanimous decision win against Nate Diaz on November 6, 2021 at UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori 2 and holds a 19-3-0 (1 NC) record.

Kamaru Usman has an switch fighting stance with a 76″ reach. The 32-year-old, Leon Edwards is an southpaw fighter with a 74″ reach. An orthodox fighter stands with their left side forward and jabs with their left hand, the southpaw fighter is the opposite, southpaw stands with their right side forward and jabs with their right hand. In most cases, orthodox fighters are right-handed, if you are left-handed, then you fight southpaw.

Kamaru Usman:
→ Usman’s striking accuracy is 52%.
→ Usman lands 4.66 significant strikes per minute.
→ Usman’s takedown accuracy is 49%.
→ Usman’s takedown average is 3.00 per 15 minutes.
→ Usman’s takedown defense is 100%.

Usman comes in with 52% striking accuracy, typically landing about 4.66 significant strikes every minute. On the other side, Edwards fires at 49% accuracy, landing about 2.62 significant strikes per minute. Kamaru Usman also has a 49% takedown accuracy and on average gets around 3.00 takedowns every 15 minutes, compared to Edwards’s 1.48 takedowns and 70% takedown accuracy.

Leon Edwards:
→ Edwards’s striking accuracy is 49%.
→ Edwards lands 2.62 significant strikes per minute.
→ Edwards’s takedown accuracy is 35%.
→ Edwards’s takedown average is 1.48 per 15 minutes.
→ Edwards’s takedown defense is 70%.

Leon spent on average 15:15 minutes in the Octagon and Kamaru has an average fight time of 16:40 minutes.

This looks like an interesting matchup, at least on paper. UFC 278 is live in , who do you think will win, Kamaru or Leon? Sound off in the comments.

You can view the scheduled UFC 278 fight card, upcoming UFC schedule 2021, and latest MMA news.