UFC 278: ‘Usman vs. Edwards 2′ Live Results and Highlights

The Octagon invades Salt Lake City for tonight’s UFC 278 event, a twelve-bout fight card headlined by Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards 2.

Usman (20-1 MMA) and Edwards (19-3 MMA) will collide for a second time this evening but this time the UFC welterweight title will be up for grabs.

The pair first met in December of 2015, with ‘The Nigerian Nightmare‘ earning a unanimous decision victory. Since then, Kamaru Usman has gone on to win thirteen straight fights, this while capturing the UFC welterweight title and defending it on five straight occasions in the process.

Meanwhile, Leon Edwards has gone 9-0 with 1 no-contest since suffering that 2015 setback to Usman. The Birmingham native is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Nate Diaz in his most recent effort at UFC 263.

UFC 278 is co-headlined by a highly anticipated middleweight matchup featuring former division champion Luke Rockhold taking on feared knockout artist Paulo Costa.

Rockhold (16-5 MMA) will be ending a three-year hiatus when he takes to the Octagon this evening. The California native will be looking to snap a two-fight losing skid, this after suffering knockout losses to Jan Blachowicz and Yoel Romero in his most recent efforts.

Meanwhile, Paulo Costa (13-2 MMA) will also enter UFC 278 with hopes of ending a two-fight losing streak. ‘The Eraser’ is coming off a decision loss to Marvin Vettori, which was preceded by a TKO loss to Israel Adesanya in a fight for the promotions middleweight title.

Also featured on tonight’s main card is a highly anticipated men’s bantamweight contest between Jose Aldo and Merab Dvalishvili.

Aldo (31-7 MMA) will enter the bout sporting a three-fight winning streak, this after scoring decision victories over Marlon Vera, Pedro Munhoz and Rob Font. The MMA legend has gone 3-2 since making the drop to the promotions bantamweight division.

Meanwhile, Merab Dvalishvili (14-4 MMA) enters UFC 278 on a seven-fight win streak, his latest being a come from behind TKO victory over Marlon Moraes. Prior to that, ‘The Machine’ has won six straight bouts by decision.

Get all of tonight’s live results and highlights below (refresh for updates):

UFC 278 Main Card (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards – Edwards def. Usman via KO (head kick) at 4:04 of Round 5

Paulo Costa vs. Luke Rockhold – Costa def. Rockhold by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

Jose Aldo vs. Merab Dvalishvili – Dvalishvili def. Aldo by unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)

Lucie Pudilova vs. Wu Yanan – Pudilova def. Yanan via TKO at 4:04 of Round 2

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Harry Hunsucker vs. Tyson Pedro – Pedro def. Hunsucker via TKO (body kick and punches) at 1:05 of Round 1

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UFC 278 Preliminary Card (ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

Alexandr Romanov vs. Marcin Tybura – Tybura def. Romanov by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)

Jared Gordon vs. Leonardo Santos – Gordon def. Santos by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

Luis Saldana vs. Sean Woodson – Ruled a split draw (29-27, 27-29, 28-28)

A.J. Fletcher vs. Ange Loosa – Loosa def. Fletcher by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28 x2)

UFC 278 Early Prelims (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

Amir Albazi vs. Francisco Figueiredo – Albazi def. Figueiredo via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:34 of Round 1

Aori Qileng vs. Jay Perrin – Qileng def. Perrin by unanimous decision (29-28×3)

Victor Altamirano vs. Daniel Da Silva – Altamirano def. da Silva via technical knockout (strikes) in Round 1

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Who are you picking to win tonight’s welterweight title fight between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards? Share your predictions in the comment section PENN Nation!