‘Great fight by both’ MMA fighters react to Leon Edwards’ stunning win over Kamaru Usman at UFC 286

After today’s win at UFC 286, Leon Edwards has now earned two outstanding straight dubs against former P4P king Kamaru Usman. The MMA community reacted quickly to Rocky’s dominant and notable win.

At the O2 Arena in London, on the main card of UFC 286, The Nigerian Nightmare and Rocky fought each other for the third time. Edwards, the current welterweight champion of the world, successfully defended his title against Usman, consensus #1 contender in the division.

How did the MMA community react to Leon Edward’s victory over Kamaru Usman?

Following the spectacular title fight that took place at UFC 286’s main event, prominent UFC fighters and a host of other MMA personalities took to Twitter to share their thoughts and views. The following section of the article includes some of the replies posted on Twitter.

Cody Durden must have been disappointed when he predicted, “Main Event Time! Former pound-for-pound MMA fighter Usman is about to get his title back!”

I feel like @USMAN84kg Main goal tonight: to silence the O2 arena 🤫 #UFC286

— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) March 18, 2023

Retired MMA fighter Alan Jouban pointed to the moment when the momentum shifted away from Leon, saying: “Leon’s fouling and way of contesting it is a lack of focus. You can see the momentum shifting.”

Heck, I lost a point and still won. I thought it was a close flight, good fight boys.

— URIAHALL (@UriahHallMMA) March 19, 2023

👀👀👀👀👀👀👀 #ufc286

— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) March 18, 2023

Current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jamahal Hill tweeted the praise of Edwards, saying, “Leon plays this perfectly!!! Let him find the reach to be the longer fighter!!!”

#and still 🔥- Not surprising to me! Congratulations @Leon_edwardsmma #ufc286

— Alex “Poatan” Pereira (@AlexPereiraUFC) March 19, 2023

great fight by both of them, he really is Rocky🔥🔥🔥🔥 #ufc286

— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) March 19, 2023

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Christopher James Weidman tweeted: “Wow! With the point! It’s one of those fights that I have to watch again tomorrow. I thought Usman won.”

I want Leon next October in Abu Dhabi 👊🏼

— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) March 19, 2023

I have Leon but what if there is a tie? #UFC286

— Brandon (@brandonroyval) March 19, 2023

Current UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Antoine Sterling also tweeted his reaction, saying: “I think the point deduction is the deciding factor. I think Edwards will win this close or will there be a tie? What do you think?”

Leon won

– CH🖕🏽TO🇪🇨VERA (@chitoveraUFC) March 19, 2023

Dirty fighter

— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) March 18, 2023

Welterweight contender Belal Muhammad with a different opinion tweeted, “I gave it to Usman especially with the point.”

great fight by both of them, he really is Rocky🔥🔥🔥🔥 #ufc286

— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) March 19, 2023

Pull the belt and they do it a fourth time for the second time in history!!!

— Jamahal Hill (@JamahalH) March 19, 2023

A really important fact to note here is how most of the fighters scored the fights extremely close. Will we actually see another quadropology? Leon is unlikely to win as the Englishman is now 2-1 behind his Nigerian rivals. UFC also doesn’t seem keen on replaying the fight given Colby Covington’s next shot at the title.

Dana White quit during the #UFC286 Post fight press conference that Colby Covington will next get a title fight against Leon Edwards 👀

WHAT A MATCHUP 🔥 pic.twitter.com/JHAIHZvd5z

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 19, 2023

What’s your take on the UFC 286 Main Event?