UFC 278 blog: Full results from UFC's first PPV in Utah, including Usman-Edwards

By Sean Walker, KSL.com | Updated - Aug. 20, 2022 at 11:46 p.m. | Posted - Aug. 20, 2022 at 3:28 p.m.

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SALT LAKE CITY — UFC hosts its first-ever pay-per-view in the state of Utah at Vivint Arena, featuring reigning welterweight champion Kamaru "The Nigerian Nightmare" Usman defending his title against No. 2 challenger Leon "Rocky" Edwards in a highly anticipated rematch of the last fight Edwards lost.

In another top-billed fight, No. 6-ranked middlweight Paulo Costa will face former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in his long-awaited return to the Octagon.

Early preliminary cards, which begin at 4 p.m. MDT, will air on UFC Fight Pass. Preliminary rounds, including 13th-ranked Alexandr Romanov's first-ever UFC match outside of Las Vegas against No. 11 Marcin Tybura, will air on ABC and ESPN beginning at 6 p.m. MDT.

The main card, which also features No. 3 bantamweight Jose Aldo against No. 6 Merab Dvalishvili, women's bantamweight riser Wu Yanan of China against Lucie Pudilova of Czechia, and light heavyweights Tyson Pedro and Harry Hunsucker are available exclusively on ESPN+ PPV beginning at 8 p.m. MDT.

Follow along in the live blog below.

Saturday, 11:37 pm

eCosta-Rockhold named UFC 278 Fight of the Night; Usman-Edwards top performance

Paulo Costa's win over Luke Rockhold was named the Fight of the Night for UFC 278, while Leon "Rocky" Edwards' upset of top-ranked welterweight Kamaru Usman earned Performance of the Night at Vivint Arena in the first-ever pay-per-view card in the state of Utah's UFC history.Official attendance was announced as 17,500, preserving the UFC's run of 26 consecutive sellouts. Total gate came to $4.295 million, an all-time Vivint Arena record.Here are full results from UFC 278 in Salt Lake City.

Main Event: Leon Edwards defeats Kamaru Usman by KO (left high kick) at 4:04 of Round 5

Co-Main Event: Paulo Costa defeats Luke Rockhold by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Merab Dvalishvili defeats Jose Aldo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Lucie Pudilova defeats Wu Yanan by TKO (elbows) at 4:04 of Round 2

Tyson Pedro defeats Harry Hunsucker by TKO (strikes) at 1:05 of Round 1

Marcin Tybura defeats Alexandr Romanov by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)

Jared Gordon defeats Leonardo Santos by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Sean Woodson and Luis Saldana fight to a split draw (29-27, 27-29, 28-28)

Ange Loosa defeats AJ Fletcher by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Amir Albazi defeats Francisco Figueiredo by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:34 of Round 1

Aoriqileng defeats Jay Perrin by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Victor Altamirano defeats Daniel Da Silva by TKO (strikes) at 3:39 of Round 1

Saturday, 11:05 pm

Leon 'Rocky' Edwards ends Kamaru Usman's reign as welterweight world champion

With one kick, Leon Edwards changed the modern face of UFC, ending the longest active winning streak in the promotion and the second-longest streak in UFC history.Kamaru Usman, the defending welterweight champion, never saw it coming.Edwards knocked out top-ranked Usman in the fifth round with 56 seconds left of UFC 278, toppling the champ's 16-match winning streak and adding to the new welterweight champion's now 11 match streak Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Vivint Arena.The pound-for-pound best fighter in the modern era — at least, that's what he assuredly would've been called had he tied Anderson Silva's UFC record of 16-straight wins — dominated the main event of Utah's first-ever pay-per-view UFC fight until the final ticks of the fifth round.That's when Edwards' leg found Usman's face, and down went the 20-1 Nigerian Nightmare.Make that 20-2.

EDWARDS KNOCKED OUT USMAN 😱 #UFC278 pic.twitter.com/RWYU2n3lap

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 21, 2022

Saturday, 10:09 pm

Paulo Costa cruises to unanimous decision over Luke Rockhold

Paulo Costa cruised to a 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 unanimous decision over Luke Rockhold, and the No. 6-ranked middleweight who was favored by 360 points accepted his win amid a loud round of boos.Gassed from the first round, Rockhold (16-6) barely contended against the stronger, leaner Costa . The sixth-ranked middleweight fighter from Belo Horizonte, Brazil controlled the bout through three rounds.Until, that is, he didn't.In the final seconds, Costa (14-2) overextended himself, Rockhold landed one significant blow to the face, and grappled him to the mat through the buzzer."He surprised me with a lot of clear shots," Costa said. "I wish I could say he doesn't have a good team, but he has."

Saturday, 09:31 pm

Dvalishvili hands 'hometown hero' Aldo rare loss

Jose Aldo had the support of thousands in a pseudo-home crowd at Vivint Arena, with chants of "Jo-se! Al-do!" ringing through the arena during his bantamweight bout.But when the final decision went to the judge's scorecard, his opponent Merab Dvalishvili had the advantage with an emotional unanimous decision over the Brazilian legend.

The bantamweight champ is in Merab's corner for his #UFC278 bout 🤝

Stream NOW on @ESPNPlus ▶️ https://t.co/pxRev95Bd2 pic.twitter.com/iHou44Tr6g
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 21, 2022

The 28 year old who ranked No. 6 in the UFC's bantamweight rankings improved to 15-4 after handing Aldo — the 35 year old former featherweight champion — only the eighth loss of his UFC career with a flurry of 114 strikes and 29 significant strikes, seven fewer than Aldo landed."This is a dream," the Georgian said. "I know Jose Aldo, I know what fighter he is. But this is our job, and we have to do our best. I applaud Jose Aldo, but I have to do everything for me."

ALDO'S REACTION 😅

Stream #UFC278 NOW on @ESPNPlus ▶️ https://t.co/pxRev9nc4A pic.twitter.com/6l0qIRVv9e
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 21, 2022

Saturday, 09:03 pm

Pudilova wins third-straight with second-round knockout

After spending time away from the UFC, Lucie Pudilova is making up for lost time.The 28-year-old fighter from Pribram, Czechia, had a second-round TKO over China's Wu Yanan.The win marked Yanan's fourth consecutive loss in the Octagon. Pudilova left the UFC back in 2020 following a four-match skid but has returned to the promotion with a renewed confidence and now riding a three-match winning streak."I am just so happy to be here," Pudilova said ringside after her dominant win. "I can't believe I am in the UFC."

VICIOUS ground and pound led to the Pudilova win 👊

Stream #UFC278 NOW ▶️ https://t.co/pxRev9nc4A pic.twitter.com/O2uiujQi4c
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 21, 2022

Saturday, 09:02 pm

Pedro makes quick work of light heavyweight win

Tyson Pedro needed just six strikes to leave his mark on UFC 278.The 30-year-old native of Penrith, Australia landed a stunning blow moments just over a minute into his light heavyweight bout with Harry Hunsucker, and moments later was being proclaimed champion in front of a sold-out crowd in the first fight of the pay-per-view card at Vivint Arena.Tyson opened the match with a perfectly timed jab, then followed with a kick to the body that stunned Hunsucker. Seconds later, the Australian once pouncing on a prone challenger and officials were calling the fight after just over a minute.

Short night at the office for @tyson_pedro_ 😤

Stream #UFC278 NOW on @ESPNPlus ▶️ https://t.co/pxRev9nc4A pic.twitter.com/iqNC7Bn9J2
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 21, 2022

Saturday, 08:38 pm

Tybura ends Romanov's perfect record in UFC with heavyweight decision

Marcin Tybura handed Alexandr Romanov the first loss of his UFC career with a majority decision in the heavyweight bout. The Polish international, who was a 280-point underdog to the Moldovian who was making his UFC debut outside of Las Vegas, landed 82 strikes on a 61% landing rate and dominated in the second and third rounds to rally for the win.

HEAVYWEIGHT SLAM 💥

Stream #UFC278 tonight on @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/pxRev9nc4A pic.twitter.com/PxvAbhNp7h
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 21, 2022

Saturday, 07:39 pm

'Flash' Gordon rallies for win by unanimous decision

Jared "Flash" Gordon won the first lightweight bout in Salt Lake City's UFC PPV history with a unanimous decision over Leonardo Santos.The 33 year old who fights out of his hometown of Queens, New York, has now won four of his last five bouts in UFC competition, coming back from a rare submission by rear-naked choke at the 4:11 mark of the third round against Grant Dawson back on April 30. Prior to that match, Gordon had won three in a row dating back to Nov. 16, 2019.The 5-foot-9 freestyle fighter with a 68-inch reach used his length well, landing 76% of his strikes while holding Santos to just 38 strikes landed in three rounds."He's like 6-foot-5, and I'm like 5-foot-4; it was hard to reach his face," Gordon joked after the match. "I thought maybe I could get the finish at one point, but the guy's a veteran."He's got wins over really good guys in the UFC, even had a seven-fight winning streak. Now he's older ... but this is a big win for me, over a veteran and back in the win column."

That's a three round shutout for @JFlashGordonMMA 💪

[ #UFC278 | Prelims are LIVE NOW on @ABCNetwork ] pic.twitter.com/LBsauYW5On
— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2022

Jokes aside, Gordon also used his size — and a 15-year background in jujitsu — to his advantage."He's tall; it's hard to get underneath me," he explained. "But I'm no slouch on the ground, either. I've never been out-grappled in a fight."I'm in great shape right now."

Saturday, 06:41 pm

Saldana earns split-decision in featherweight fight

UFC's first PPV foray into Salt Lake City brought something unique to the sport: a split decision.Luis Saldana took the rare victory by edging Sean Woodson on Thursday night, holding in a bout where both fighters landed just over half their strike attempts each.Saldana landed 53% of his strikes with 96, or 10 more than Woodson. But Woodson out-struck Saldana in the second round, 23-20 — when he gave up his only takedown.

#UFC278 Official Scorecard: Sean Woodson vs Luis Saldana

View All Official Scorecards: https://t.co/nFWG1acntz pic.twitter.com/4F10BO1WJY
— UFC News (@UFCNews) August 21, 2022

Saturday, 06:35 pm

Loosa survives mid-round flurry to claim upset welterweight win

With the card shifting to network television and ABC, Ange Loosa gave the mass consumer audience exactly what they wanted: a show of force and an upset.Loosa buried 38 signature strikes with two takedowns, using his 74-inch reach and kickboxing background to comfortably outlast AJ Fletcher by unanimous decision in the opening preliminary bout at Vivint Arena.Loosa, who was a 130-point underdog, came out with a strong right hand and pummeled Fletcher with 225 strikes while taking just 92.The 29-year-old welterweight who fights out of Switzerland by way of his hometown of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, took a 29-27, 29-28, 29-28 decision to improve to 9-3 as a professional and his first win in the UFC after losing a three-round unanimous decision to Mounir Lazzez on April 16."I'm so tired; that's all I can say. But I'm happy for the win. I worked hard for this fight. I wasn't in great shape, and I didn't manage my cardio is well as I should have."But I'm so happy for the win."

HOW IS LOOSA STILL STANDING? 😱

Stream #UFC278 on @ESPNPlus tonight ➡️ https://t.co/pxRev9nc4A pic.twitter.com/8NRCuSMdCn
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 21, 2022

But it wasn't easy. After dominating the first round, Loosa absorbed a furry of blows to end the second round as Fletcher tried to jump back into it. The American put the contender into the cage with a windfall, prompting several to think the referee might call the match.But Loosa stayed on his feet, took the punches, and finished off the round while not giving up an official takedown."I wans't really worried. I knew he was more tired than me," Loosa said. "I was still feeling pretty comfortable on the ground."

Saturday, 06:01 pm

The Prince is back: Albazi tops Figueiredo in first-round TKO

In his first UFC fight since January 2021, Amir "The Prince" Albazi tried to prove that the flyweight classification was the deepest in the top MMA promotion in the world.And with a 4-minute, 34-second submission of Francisco Figueiredo, he proved that he's still on top.The 11th-ranked flyweight in the world improved to 15-1 with a rare neck choke, hammering Figueiredo into submission after landing 23 strikes with two takedowns."I called that first-round rear naked choke," Albazi said. "We have footage of it, too; I've been saying, if I get this guy on his back, he's finished."I was already three steps ahead. ... The Prince is back."After nearly 18 months away from UFC competition, it was good to be back, indeed."It feels good, extra good," Albazi said. "I expected the win. I'm here to just show people that I'm a different level of animal. My pressure is different, my jujitsu is different, my mentality is different."This is just the start. It's another step toward the belt."

ALBAZI GETS IT DONE IN ONE 😤

Stream #UFC278 tonight on @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/pxRev95Bd2 pic.twitter.com/j1O8wbcaGZ
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 20, 2022

Albazi believes himself to be within three fights away from fighting for a title. Of course, he admits things can change, so he's just hoping to fight 2-4 more times in the next year to get to that point.One of them may be close to his hometown of Baghdad, Iraq: UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Oct. 22."Right now, it looks like Moreno is fighting Figueiredo, if he comes down. Let them keep fighting, and I'm going to keep climbing the ranks," said Albazi, who fights out of London."Abu Dhabi looks like a great place for me (for next fight)," he added. "Those are my people; I'm the Lion of Iraq. … I've been fighting in Abu Dhabi twice, and I loved it."

Saturday, 05:30 pm

Aoriqileng soars to unanimous decision in bantamweight bout

Aoriqileng used a strong opening two rounds to survive a late push by his opponent en route to a unanimous-decision win over Jay Perrin, who landed 106 strikes to 102 with 57 coming in the third and final round.Making his debut at a new weight, the 29-year-old fighter who was born in Inner Mongolia, China and fights out of Shanghai dominated the opening rounds, landing more than half of his strikes to out-strike Perrin, 57-31 in the first two rounds.But Perrin came back, landing 49 strikes — including 34 signature hits — with a late flurry in the third round to force the bout to the judges' scorecard for the unanimous win.By that point, all "The Mongolian Murderer" had to do was hold on, though.

THIS ENDING EXCHANGE 😳

Stream #UFC278 tonight on @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/pxRev9nc4A pic.twitter.com/n6RIuhv036
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 20, 2022

"We expected that; we prepared for that type of fight going into the camp," said Aoriqileng, who entered the post-match media room with a bag of ice over his swollen right eye. "I knew that going into the third round, but due to altitude or elevation, I was very exhausted; same with my opponent. I wasn't able to fully finish the fight as anticipated."

Saturday, 05:01 pm

Altamirano rolls to TKO in UFC 278 opener

Victor Altamirano took the first fight of the night with a first-round submission of Daniel Da Silva, downing the 26 year old native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with a flurry of late punches en route to victory on his first knockdown.Altamirano, the 31 year old native of Mexico City who fights out of Fort Worth, Texas, improved to 10-2 in UFC fights, bouncing back from a three-round split decision loss to Carlos Hernandez in his last bout on Feb. 26.Quite the welcome to Salt Lake City for the UFC. "I gave myself the responsibility of giving a good welcome to Salt Lake," Altamirano said. "I told myself this has to be a good fight; we have to make sure the people of Salt Lake City look forward to the next event. And I hope my contemporaries do, too."I'd love to return quickly," he later added in Spanish. "I know I have two weeks to recover, and I'm going to take advantage of it. But any time they want to set up another event and want an exciting fight, I'll be there." Altamirano landed 94 strikes at a 76% strike rate in a 3-minute, 39-second first round that lasted nearly 15 minutes of real time for all the action. Da Silva landed a few blows early — 27 in all. But as soon as Altamirano smelled blood with a takedown, he never let up. "Dial back? I don't know what that is," he quipped with a laugh. "He hit me a couple of times, and I felt it. But truthfully, it didn't hurt me; it didn't fatigue me. "The best hit, in my opinion, was the one that it took to take him down."

What a finish for 𝑬𝒍 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒐 👏

[ @Vic__Altamirano | #UFC278 Early Prelims are LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/zJ0CwV1xtl
— UFC (@ufc) August 20, 2022

Saturday, 03:19 pm

Preview UFC 278

Get ready for tonight's main event with a few of previews showcasing the Beehive State's fight community:

None are local, but here's what the fighters of UFC 278 think of Salt Lake City

Road to redemption: Inside the world's fastest growing sport and its athletes

'This city is booming': 6 years after unheralded Fight Night, UFC makes Utah return

The road to G.O.A.T status goes through tonight 🐐

[ @Usman84kg | #UFC278 | 𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙨 630𝙥𝙢𝙀𝙏 on ESPN+ | 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙨 8𝙥𝙢𝙀𝙏 on @ABCNetwork | 𝙈𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙙 10𝙥𝙢𝙀𝙏 on ESPN+ PPV ] pic.twitter.com/JNf1oRJtpf
— UFC (@ufc) August 20, 2022

Saturday, 02:33 pm

UFC 278 schedule

UFC 278Where: Vivint Arena in Salt Lake CityWhen: Saturday, Aug. 20Main card (on ESPN+ PPV) — 8 p.m. MT

Welterweight championship: No. 1 Kamaru Usman (20-1) vs. No. 2 Leon Edwards (19-3)

Middleweight: No. 6 Paulo Costa (13-2) vs. Luke Rockhold (16-5)

Bantamweight: No. 3 Jose Aldo (31-7) vs. No. 6 Merab Dvalishvili (14-4)

Women's bantamweight: Wu Yanan (12-5) vs. Lucie Pudilova (13-7)

Light heavyweight: Tyson Pedro (8-3) vs. Harry Hunsucker (7-5)

Preliminary matches (on ABC, ESPN, ESPN+) — 6 p.m. MT

Heavyweight:No. 11 Marcin Tybura (22-7) vs. No. 13 Alexandr Romanov (18-0)

Lightweight: Leonardo Santos (18-6-1) vs. Jared Gordon (18-5)

Featherweight: Sean Woodson (9-1) vs. Luis Saldana (16-7)

Welterweight: AJ Fletcher (9-1) vs. Ange Loosa (8-3)

Early prelims (on UFC Fight Pass) — 4 p.m. MT

Flyweight: No. 11 Amir Albazi (14-1) vs. Francisco Figueiredo (13-4-1)

Bantamweight: Aoriqileng (23-11) vs. Jay Perrin (10-5)

Flyweight: Daniel Da Silva (11-3) vs. Victor Altamirano (10-2)

UFC 278 blog: Full results from UFC's first PPV in Utah, including Usman-Edwards

By Sean Walker, KSL.com | Updated - Aug. 20, 2022 at 11:46 p.m. | Posted - Aug. 20, 2022 at 3:28 p.m.

UFC fighter Leon Edwards, of Jamaica, celebrates his title as welterweight champion of the world after knocking out Nigerian UFC fighter Kamaru Usman during the UFC 278 mixed martial arts title bout in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022. (Francisco Kjolseth, The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

eCosta-Rockhold named UFC 278 Fight of the Night; Usman-Edwards top performance

Leon 'Rocky' Edwards ends Kamaru Usman's reign as welterweight world champion

Paulo Costa cruises to unanimous decision over Luke Rockhold

Dvalishvili hands 'hometown hero' Aldo rare loss

Pudilova wins third-straight with second-round knockout

Pedro makes quick work of light heavyweight win

Tybura ends Romanov's perfect record in UFC with heavyweight decision

'Flash' Gordon rallies for win by unanimous decision

Saldana earns split-decision in featherweight fight

Loosa survives mid-round flurry to claim upset welterweight win

The Prince is back: Albazi tops Figueiredo in first-round TKO

Aoriqileng soars to unanimous decision in bantamweight bout

Altamirano rolls to TKO in UFC 278 opener

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UFC 278 blog: Full results from UFC's first PPV in Utah, including Usman-Edwards

By Sean Walker, KSL.com | Updated - Aug. 20, 2022 at 11:46 p.m. | Posted - Aug. 20, 2022 at 3:28 p.m.

UFC fighter Leon Edwards, of Jamaica, celebrates his title as welterweight champion of the world after knocking out Nigerian UFC fighter Kamaru Usman during the UFC 278 mixed martial arts title bout in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022. (Francisco Kjolseth, The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

eCosta-Rockhold named UFC 278 Fight of the Night; Usman-Edwards top performance

Leon 'Rocky' Edwards ends Kamaru Usman's reign as welterweight world champion

Paulo Costa cruises to unanimous decision over Luke Rockhold

Dvalishvili hands 'hometown hero' Aldo rare loss

Pudilova wins third-straight with second-round knockout

Pedro makes quick work of light heavyweight win

Tybura ends Romanov's perfect record in UFC with heavyweight decision

'Flash' Gordon rallies for win by unanimous decision

Saldana earns split-decision in featherweight fight

Loosa survives mid-round flurry to claim upset welterweight win

The Prince is back: Albazi tops Figueiredo in first-round TKO

Aoriqileng soars to unanimous decision in bantamweight bout

Altamirano rolls to TKO in UFC 278 opener

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