The welterweight title fight between reigning champion Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards finally has a date and location.
The pair are officially booked to face off in the main event at UFC 278, which takes place Saturday, August 20 at the Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City.
Usman will look to further solidify his position as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC. The 20-1 champion will look to register his 21st consecutive victory over Edwards, who he defeated by unanimous decision in Orlando in December 2015.
But the rematch should deliver a different type of matchup. Both men have evolved significantly as mixed martial artists. Usman climbed the ranks to become the undisputed welterweight champion and register five consecutive title defences, while Edwards rebounded brilliantly to go unbeaten, with nine wins and one no contest in the 10 bouts that followed his decision loss to Usman.
And with Edwards riding the most impressive unbeaten run under the UFC welterweight banner, the Birmingham native will get the chance to become only the third fighter from the UK to challenge for a UFC title – and potentially only the second UK fighter to capture UFC championship gold.
Two other bout announced for that date include a middleweight clash between former champion Luke Rockhold and former title challenger Paulo Costa, while flyweights Victor Altamirano and Jake Hadley are also set for action.
