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UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards
Leon Edwards
Leon Edwards
19-3 · GBR
VS
Kamaru Usman
Kamaru Usman
20-1 · NGA
August 20, 2022 · Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Welterweight · 5 rounds · Main event
170.0lb
Weigh-in
170.0lb
Leon Edwards def. Kamaru Usman by KO/TKO (Kick), R5 4:04
Performance
Round by round
SSTDKDCtrl
R1
Edwards13/131/202:01
Usman6/71/401:21
R2
Edwards20/280/200:00
Usman36/651/101:42
R3
Edwards7/100/000:00
Usman10/172/303:23
R4
Edwards6/100/100:54
Usman22/301/202:51
R5 · 4:04
Edwards9/140/010:01
Usman9/160/201:19
Total
Edwards55/751/512:56
Usman83/1355/12010:36

Pre-fight

The model's read going in

The walk-forward model's call at the time of the bout — persisted out-of-sample, with no hindsight about the result.

Prediction
EdwardsWin probabilityUsman
33.3%66.7%
KO / TKO
28%
Submission
11%
Decision
61%
Expected fight time: 20.2 min
Retrospective pick: the walk-forward model's call at the time of the fight — persisted out-of-sample, with no hindsight about the result.
What drives the pick

Each bar is a feature's push on the model from the center axis. Red pushes toward Edwards, blue toward Usman. Tap a bar for why.

Predicted outcomes
Edwards33%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO8%24%12%
Submission5%14%3%
Decision20%62%10%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes58 (2478)act 55
Takedowns0.3 (0.01.6)act 1
Usman67%
Wins by
Model
Equity
Mkt
KO / TKO20%30%25%
Submission6%9%5%
Decision41%61%45%
Predicted output
Sig. strikes72 (3198)act 83
Takedowns1.8 (0.05.0)act 5
Combined totals~130 sig strikes~2.2 takedownsmkt —
How it ends
mkt —
R18%
R27%
R312%
R47%
R55%
Distance61%
Fighter props
Most sig. strikestie 0.7%
Edwards
41.9%+137
Usman
-13757.3%
Most takedownstie 24.7%
Edwards
11.2%+572
Usman
-57264.1%
Significant strikes — over/under
Edwards
Expected: 57.6
57.5
Over 57.5
39.8%
+151
Under 57.5
60.2%
-151
073145
Usman
Expected: 72.5
72.5
Over 72.5
39.7%
+152
Under 72.5
60.3%
-152
091182
Takedowns — over/under
Edwards
Expected: 0.3
0.5
Over 0.5
24.3%
+311
Under 0.5
75.7%
-311
035
Usman
Expected: 1.8
2
Over 2
36.3%
+130
Exactly 2
16.4%
push
Under 2
47.3%
-130
036

Odds are model-implied (no real prop market is priced for these). The “most” prices are draw-no-bet — a tie (for takedowns, usually 0–0) is a push, so each side is priced off its chance of winning given a result, while the % shown is the raw chance of landing strictly more. Drag a line in half-point steps: a half line (e.g. 2.5) is a clean over/under, while a whole number adds a third outcome — landing exactly on it, a push — so over, exact and under sum to 100%. On a whole number the over/under odds are draw-no-bet (priced off the decisive mass, since the push refunds), so the two sides stay mirror images rather than implying an arbitrage.

Expected fight time 20.2 min. Predicted-output ranges are percentiles of the model’s simulated fights: sig strikes the middle 50% (25th–75th); takedowns the wider 10th–90th, since they’re 0 in most fights so a narrow band would collapse to 0. Win-by-method = win probability × that fighter’s own method split: the model forecasts how the fight ends, and that forecast is divided between the corners by each fighter’s finishing record — UFC wins in full, earlier-career wins at half weight, as of fight night — reconciled so the fighters’ totals still equal their win probabilities and the methods still total the fight-level forecast above. “Equity” is each of those over that fighter’s win % — how they win given that they win — so a column adds to 100%, and it differs by corner. A fighter with no classifiable wins at any level leans on the fight-level split. “How it ends” is the model’s round-of-finish split. “Mkt” is the de-vigged market prop (consensus across books), shown for context, not as a betting signal; rounds & totals slots fill as that data lands. Percentages are apportioned by largest remainder, so each set adds to its total exactly and an individual figure can sit a point off its own rounding.

Model vs market
Final
ModelMarketGapLine
To win
Edwards33.3%25.4%+7.9+277
Usman66.7%74.6%−7.9-352
By method
Edwards by KO/TKO9.4%12.3%−2.9+582
Edwards by submission3.5%3.4%+0.1+2339
Edwards by decision20.4%9.7%+10.7+757
Usman by KO/TKO18.8%24.6%−5.8+240
Usman by submission7.1%5.1%+2.0+1524
Usman by decision40.9%44.8%−3.9-116
Total rounds (over)
Over 1.5 rds91.7%79.9%+11.8-556
Over 2.5 rds85.0%72.0%+13.0-331
Over 3.5 rds73.0%65.3%+7.7-231
Over 4.5 rds66.1%59.6%+6.5-175
Goes the distance
Fight goes to decision61.2%57.3%+3.9-157

Market % is the de-vigged (no-vig) consensus across the books that price both fighters; the line is the average across books with the min–max range in parentheses. Gap is the model minus the market in points (+ = the model rates that outcome above the market). Thin or one-sided markets are flagged or left blank rather than shown as a fabricated %. Shown for context, not as a bet — the closing line is the sharpest public price and the model trails it on average. For 5-round bouts the model splits its round-3+ finish mass into rounds 3–5 by the historical within-bucket rate, so the over-3.5 / 4.5 lines carry a model estimate.

Trait web
67.7Striking76.6
Usman +8.8
47.2Grappling63.8
Usman +16.6
Str/minStr accStr defAbsorbedTD/15TD accTD defSubs
Hover a point to see the values
EdwardsUsman
Tale of the tape
Ratings (Elo)
1664
Pound-for-pound
1742
1652
Divisional
1730
1491
Striking offense
1524
1539
Striking defense
1515
1505
Grappling offense
1532
1525
Grappling defense
1584
Physical
30 yrs
Age
35 yrs
6'2"
Height
6'0"
74"
Reach
76"
Southpaw
Stance
Switch
Striking (UFC career)
2.62
Strikes landed / min
4.66
49%
Strike accuracy
53%
2.15
Strikes absorbed / min
2.59
55%
Strike defense
59%
Grappling (UFC career)
1.48
Takedowns / 15 min
3.00
35%
Takedown accuracy
49%
70%
Takedown defense
100%
0.4
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.1
Form & résumé
79%
UFC win rate
100%
+1
Win/loss streak
+15
80%
Last-5 win rate
100%
27%
Finish rate
33%
Recent opp. quality
434
Days since last fight
287
Recent form (last 5 UFC)
Leon Edwards
  • WNate DiazU-DEC R5
    Close -4971y 2mo before
  • WRafael Dos AnjosU-DEC R5
    Close -1103y 1mo before
  • WGunnar NelsonS-DEC R3
    Close -1403y 5mo before
  • WDonald CerroneU-DEC R5
    Close -2554y 2mo before
  • WPeter SobottaKO/TKO R3
    Close -1904y 5mo before
Kamaru Usman
  • WColby CovingtonU-DEC R5
    Close -3099mo before
  • WJorge MasvidalKO/TKO R2
    Close -3491y 4mo before
  • WGilbert BurnsKO/TKO R3
    Close -2501y 6mo before
  • WJorge MasvidalU-DEC R5
    Close -2402y 1mo before
  • WColby CovingtonKO/TKO R5
    Close -1902y 8mo before
Edwards — win / loss by method
Record: 19-3-0, 1 NC

Bar length is fight count (largest bar = full width); shading splits finishes by round and decisions by unanimous vs split — tap a bar for the round-by-round count.

KO/TKO
6 wins, 0 losses
W
32% of wins
L
0% of losses
Submission
3 wins, 0 losses
W
16% of wins
L
0% of losses
Decision
10 wins, 2 losses
W
53% of wins
L
67% of losses
DQ / other
0 wins, 1 loss
W
0% of wins
L
33% of losses
UFC
11win2loss0draw1NC
WinsLosses
2 (18%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
1 (9%)Submission(0%) 0
8 (73%)Decision(100%) 2
Non-UFC
8win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (50%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
2 (25%)Submission(0%) 0
2 (25%)Decision(0%) 0
0 (0%)DQ / other(100%) 1
Usman — win / loss by method
Record: 20-1-0

Bar length is fight count (largest bar = full width); shading splits finishes by round and decisions by unanimous vs split — tap a bar for the round-by-round count.

KO/TKO
9 wins, 0 losses
W
45% of wins
L
0% of losses
Submission
1 win, 1 loss
W
5% of wins
L
100% of losses
Decision
10 wins, 0 losses
W
50% of wins
L
0% of losses
UFC
15win0loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
4 (27%)KO/TKO() 0
1 (7%)Submission() 0
10 (67%)Decision() 0
Non-UFC
5win1loss0draw0NC
WinsLosses
5 (100%)KO/TKO(0%) 0
0 (0%)Submission(100%) 1
0 (0%)Decision(0%) 0

Profiles

Experience
Edwards
Usman
14
UFC fights
15
213.4 min · 15.2 avg
Octagon time
249.9 min · 16.7 avg
15y 2m
Career length
13y 8m
UFC schedule strength

Opponents' records on fight night — toggle their full cross-promotional record vs UFC bouts only.

Edwards
Usman
210W–71L · 74.7%
Overall
281W–70L · 80.1%
194W–69L · 73.8%
Wins
281W–70L · 80.1%
16W–2L · 88.9%
Losses
0W–0L
Non-UFC schedule strength
Edwards
Usman
45W–12L · 78.9%
Overall
26W–15L · 63.4%
43W–12L · 78.2%
Wins
23W–12L · 65.7%
2W–0L · 100.0%
Losses
3W–3L · 50.0%
Distance striking
Edwards
Usman
3.97
Landed / min
5.56
42.6%
Accuracy
41.4%
60.3%
Defense
62.9%
0.28
Knockdowns / 15 min
0.60
46.8%
Time at distance
46.3%
Grappling & control
Edwards
Usman
1.48
Takedowns / 15 min
3.00
35.0%
Takedown accuracy
49.0%
70.1%
Takedown defense
100.0%
0.35
Sub attempts / 15 min
0.12
55.1%
Control share
96.0%
Strike target map
Edwards
  • Head66%(369)div 63%
  • Body20%(111)div 20%
  • Legs14%(79)div 16%
Usman
  • Head62%(718)div 63%
  • Body30%(349)div 20%
  • Legs8%(97)div 16%

Where each fighter lands significant strikes (career). “div” = the weight-class average.

Leon Edwards
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

Per-fight: SS & TD shown landed/attempted; Close = consensus closing line.

Kamaru Usman
CloseSSTDKDCtrl

Per-fight: SS & TD shown landed/attempted; Close = consensus closing line.