In recent years, the UFC has flourished in the United Kingdom. Fighters like Paddy Pimblett, Molly McCann and Tom Aspinal have headlined events in the past. On March 18th, in the O2 arena, the Mixed Martial Arts leader will return to England with the best fight MMA has ever had.

Former Welterweight and PFP king Kamaru Usman will return to fight Welterweight king and UK native Leon Edwards.

The two have met twice before: Once as contenders, and once as the two best 170 pound fighters in the world. This fight will mark the third meeting between them.

O2 Arena will be rocking on March 18th with a matchup of a welterweight legend and the only man in the UFC to ever beat him.

Before this, two insanely entertaining lightweights clashed with the victor likely to propel themselves towards a title shot.

Justin Gaethje vs Rafael Fiziev

A new era has begun in the lightweight division. Guys like Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Donald Ceronne have departed the division in the last three years.

The changing of the guard at 155 pounds has been going on for a while now, and at the co-main event of UFC 286, there will be another match of past vs present. Former interim champion and perennial contender Justin Gaethje will take on striking wizard Rafael Fiziev.

Fiziev is a striking wizard, and his last win over former champion Rafael Dos Anjos opened up a lot of eyes to the phenom Fiziev. Many have hailed him the most dangerous lightweight on the roster. That same title was also often used for Gaetje.

This is a rare matchup where both men mirror their own styles: Two heavy-handed strikers. Fiziev is a former champion, and he likes to lure the people he fights into brawls, which makes them sloppy and opens room for a finish.

Similar to Fiziev, Gaethje is a brawler. Every single fight he’s in is a banger, and there are very few people on the UFC roster who can out brawl Gaethje. On paper, Fiziev is one of them.

We’ll have to wait and see if Fiziev can do what no other man could, which is finally put away Justin Gaethje for good.

Either way, this fight is destined to be a fight of the night contender.

Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman

The main event is the trilogy we didn’t know we needed until six months ago. Usman took the first match, and Edwards won the second. They are now lined up for the final chapter, where the winner takes all.

Before we dive into the technical aspect of the fight, lets appreciate the two mens history.

Usman met Edwards for the first time back in 2015. At the time, both guys were considered to be the next generation. While Usman was the favorite and the victor, Rocky didn’t just roll over and die. He threw up submissions and made the fight competitive

The two then split for seven years.

Usman won seven more fights on his way to a title shot. He dismantled Tyron Woodley on his way to becoming one of the greatest welterweights of all time.

While Kamaru was off being champion, Rocky had to go through hell. He didn’t lose a single fight since their first meeting, but bad luck happened to him time and time again.

The Masvidal scuffle and a last-second embarrassment from the hands of Nate Diaz made him the laughing stock of the welterweight division.

With all of the marketable contenders wiped out twice by Usman, the MMA leader finally gave Leon the title shot he deserved.

Even though Kamaru opened up as a massive favorite, Rocky produced some problems for Usman.

Leon took Usman down for the first time in his career and won the first round. However, as many expected, the champion rebounded and won all three of the following rounds leading up to round five.

The first few minutes of round five followed suit. Kamaru was winning and was minutes away from another successful title defense.

Then, it landed.

Head Edwards cornerman Dave Lowell called for a head kick. Long story short, it landed, Usman was flat on the canvas, and the second-longest welterweight title reign was over.

That brings us to today.

Despite all of the events of both fights, the question remains: Who wins?

Once again, Usman has opened up as the favorite, and according to many, the finish was a fluke. However, after all this time and with the last fight in play, it feels foolish to count out Rocky.

While Usman did dominate a hefty majority of the fight, the altitude played a factor in the performance of Rocky, but many on the card. He will not have this same problem in London, and one can expect a far better version of Rocky this time around.

Usman, however, will not have that same luxury. The former champion 35, with busted up hands and knees, is coming off a KO loss for the first time in his career. Who knows how he Nigerian Nightmare will come back.

Despite looking impressive at UFC 278, father time is undefeated. Usman is getting to that age where he can become old overnight.

If we get the same Usman that won and held the belt for as long as he did, the champion will have to go through hell in order to defend his title. As the old saying goes, “You’re only as good as your last fight.”

As a reminder, Usman is one of the best fighters of this generation. It wouldn’t be surprising if he comes back and this whole reign starts over again.

Maybe we have yet to witness a real nightmare, or maybe it’s gone for good.

After all of this, some questions still remain:

  • How will Usman rebound after the loss?
  • Will Rocky silence the doubters and defend his title?
  • How big of a factor was the altitude in Salt Lake City for UFC 278?

The main event of UFC 286 will reveal it all.