UFC 278 is in the books, and it saw one of the most incredible comebacks in MMA history.
Kamaru Usman looked to be a minute away from another dominant title defense to add to his resume. But Leon Edwards had other plans, and he landed a picture perfect head kick to put the now former top pound-for-pound star out cold. While everyone was counting him out, Edwards pulled out an epic comeback late in the fifth and became the new UFC welterweight champion.
Also on the card, Paulo Costa and Luke Rockhold put on a very heavyweight type of contest, and Jose Aldo’s road back to the title got derailed with a very close decision against Merab Dvalishvili.
Below, we analyze the pros and cons of each of the key bouts, with a quick twitter thread that’s short and fitting for people’s social media era attention spans:
PEDRO TKOs HUNSUCKER
PROS: That was fast. Stiff jab, then front kick that folded him a minute into the match up. Easy and perfect win for Pedro after his first camp with CKB.
CONS: None, that was cleaaaan!
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) August 21, 2022
ALDO CONTROLLED BY MERAB
PROS: Not much, honestly.
CONS: Aldo defended takedowns, but didn’t throw enough. Merab wore him down late, but “new” criteria should’ve favored Aldo early. Rules have been set for years, but Rogan & DC still push wrong info. https://t.co/aJ5rmU6gyf
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) August 21, 2022
COSTA OUTLASTS ZOMBIE ROCKHOLD
PROS: Luke’s chin held up, but their cardio didn’t. Sloppy, wild, but also weirdly captivating & hilarious. Luke was so gassed, when he got on top he just pulled a Tyler Durden and poured his blood on Costa
CONS: See, Pros. https://t.co/LLg4qeEV9l
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) August 21, 2022
EDWARDS COMEBACK KOs USMAN
PROS: WOW! Usman was a minute away from another dominant title defense. Everyone was counting Edwards out until he pulled a rabbit out of the hat. Made him parry and slip,then bam! PERFECT headkick to take the belt!
CONS: NONE https://t.co/M4J98r9O55
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) August 21, 2022
#UFC278 OVERALL
PROS: EPIC comeback, beautiful moment for Leon. UK stadium fight next? Good on Luke retiring before it’s too late
CONS: Should’ve given title shot to Aldo. Now UFC lost a title contender, didn’t gain one. Commentary on judging still sucks https://t.co/Eqz74jWGWD
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) August 21, 2022
And that’s about it. For more social media musings, follow me on twitter over at @antontabuena, and of course you should do that for Bloody Elbow’s official twitter account as well.
About the author
