The next numbered tournament of the Absolute Fighting Championship stood out from the rest.
UFC 278 didn't feature an all-star-packed card or multiple title bouts like the last five shows have.
But his long-awaited rematch between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards crowned him, in which not only the welterweight belt was at stake, but also the promotion record for the longest winning streak.
If successful, the Nigerian could equal this indicator with the legendary Anderson Silva and forever write his name in the history of mixed martial arts.
In recent years, Usman has risen to the status of one of the most intimidating representatives of the championship, evolving from a physically strong and hardy wrestler to an all-around athlete with one of the hardest jabs in the league.
For a year and a half, he knocked out the star Jorge Masvidal and Gilbert Burns, and experienced serious problems only in the battle with the same versatile Colby Covington, who was also famous for his incredible performance.
Kamaru approached the rematch with Leon as the leader in the ranking of the strongest fighters, regardless of weight categories (Pound-for-Pound, P4P) and was considered a clear favorite.
And there were several reasons for this.
Firstly, in 2015, Usman already got the better of Edwards, and quite confidently.
In the first two rounds of that fight, the Briton offered decent resistance and delivered only one significant blow less (24:25), but in the third he could not oppose anything to his opponent.
By this time, the Nigerian already had three takedowns in his asset, but in one segment he doubled their number and dominated the opponent for more than four minutes.
The ratio of hits was 23:2 in favor of Kamaru, and the judges had no doubts about the name of the winner.
Secondly, although Edwards was stronger in the last nine fights out of ten, his performances in 2021 made him seriously doubt his ability to fight Usman on equal terms.
The fight with Belal Muhammad was declared a no contest after the Palestinian-American was unable to continue due to an accidental eye poke, and the duel with Nate Diaz almost turned into a failure.
In the final five-minute period, Leon missed a lot and was close to an early defeat, but miraculously survived.
However, the status of the favorite and the title of the strongest P4P fighter could well play a cruel joke with Usman.
And although the athlete himself rejected suspicions of a lack of motivation and a lack of proper attitude to fight, the beginning of the fight partially confirmed these fears.
Not only that, in the first round, the challenger almost doubled the champion (13:6), he managed to transfer him to the canvas and keep him there for more than two minutes.
A chic undercut allowed him to go full mount on the move, and then take his back.
However, Usman reacted to this more than with dignity.
He quickly seized the initiative and began to impose his fighting style on Edwards, which made the next 15 minutes extremely disappointing for Leon.
Kamaru tirelessly pressed, at least not inferior to his opponent in the stance, and in the fight he arranged a real master class.
By the end of the fourth round, he had five successful passes to the legs and more than nine minutes of being in a dominant position.
Gradually it began to seem that Edwards was giving up - if not physically, but mentally.
Already after the third segment, he looked confused, and in the break before the final round he looked like an athlete who had lost faith in himself.
The trainer, literally shouting at him, tried to revive the ward, but he practically did not react to his suggestions and did not show a desire to continue the fight.
And at that moment it seemed that the fighter, nicknamed Rocky, would not be able to justify his nickname and would be defeated.
However, the ending of the fight turned out to be truly Hollywood.
In the second minute of the final round, Edwards heroically defended himself and did not allow Usman to chalk up another, sixth takedown, and 58 seconds before the gong shocked the world of mixed martial arts.
Jaebum Leon diverted Kamaru's attention and sent a powerful left hi-kick to the target.
The blow was so crushing that finishing was not even required.
The Nigerian was in a deaf knockout.
Edwards inflicted the second defeat of Usman in his career and became the author of one of the main sensations of the year.
Before that, only the little-known Jose Caceres managed to stop Camara, who “strangled” him at the CFA regional promotion tournament in May 2013.
As a result, the Nigerian not only failed to hold the sixth defense of the belt, but also stopped one step away from repeating Anderson Silva's record.
In 2006-2012, he won 16 times in a row.
Also, the tournament in Salt Lake City was remembered for two significant fights with the participation of middleweight and bantamweight stars.
Luke Rockhold, who returned to the octagon after a three-year absence, showed a brilliant performance and fought on equal terms with the sixth rating Paulo Costa for three rounds.
By the end of the first, the 37-year-old veteran was noticeably tired and the rest of the fight could hardly move around the cage, but at the same time he continued to throw dangerous high-kicks and turntables, and in the third segment he almost knocked down his opponent.
However, the judges still sided with the Brazilian.
The American suffered a third defeat in a row and announced his retirement.
Only a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus can sweeten the pill for him.
In turn, Merab Dvalishvili took over another UFC legend, Jose Aldo, and extended his unbeaten streak to six fights.
Although the battle was not easy for him.
The Georgian fighter tried 16 times to get to the feet, but the Brazilian never allowed him to achieve what he wanted, as a result of which Merab had to rely on his skills in the stance.
We can't say that he managed to beat the former featherweight champion, but the constant pressure and activity still helped him impress the judges.
In the end, they unanimously gave him the victory.