Highlights! Edwards Stuns Usman With Head Kick KO

Leon Edwards scored one of the most memorable head kick knockouts of all time last night (Sat., Aug. 20, 2022) at UFC 278 live on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, when “Rocky” stunned UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman with a fifth-round finish to walk away with the 170-pound crown.

Usman put the pressure on along the cage in the early going, but it was Edwards who scored a trip into a takedown and full mount. It was the first time Usman has ever been taken down in his career. From there, “Rocky” took the champ’s back and stayed busy with rear-naked choke attempts. Usman gained some momentum back in the second with heavy pressure and solid work with his hands. That opened up a late takedown to even the playing field on the scorecards.

Usman went back to his wrestling in the third to score a takedown, but Edwards was able to get back to his feet. That didn’t stop Usman from sticking to “Rocky” like glue along the cage and sapping Edwards’ energy. Edwards tried to flip the script in the fourth with his own takedown, but Usman stuffed it and dumped “Rocky” on his butt.

The champion kept the inside pressure up in the fifth as Edwards failed to offer up much resistance. He was exhausted and seemed incapable of landing anything of significance. That was until “Rocky” pulled out a massive left head kick hidden by a straight left that slammed into Usman’s head and put the champion out cold. It was quite incredible.

Check out the full fight video highlights below courtesy of UFC/ESPN:

For complete UFC 278 results and coverage click here.