Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman 3 Odds & Prediction for UFC 286

• Leon Edwards remains the underdog, +195 against Kamaru Usman -250 for UFC 286 this weekend.
• Edwards timed a perfect head-kick to stop Usman, can he catch “The Nigerian Nightmare” again on home soil?
• We give our betting prediction for Edwards vs Usman 3.

Newly crowned Welterweight champion Leon Edwards is set to defend his new title against Kamaru Usman in London, this Saturday, March 18th at the O2 in London.

Edwards who was born in Jamaican and raised in Birmingham became the 2nd ever English UFC champion after his fifth-round KO of Usman at UFC 278 in Utah. Below we give an early UFC odds and betting pick for Edwards vs Usman 3.

Edwards vs Usman 3 Odds

Leon Edwards is a +195 betting underdog for his upcoming trilogy fight at UFC 286 against Kamaru Usman. The oddsmakers from various online sportsbooks, are giving “Rocky” a shocking 33.9% chance of defeating “The Nigerian Nightmare” for a second time. You can bet $100 on Edwards to win the trilogy against Usman to net $195 at these current UFC 286 odds.

Usman who was winning the fight on the judge’s scorecards until the KO in the final round is expected to bounce back from his first UFC loss. Remains a solid betting favorite, with an implied win probability of 71.4%.

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Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman 3 Prediction

The majority of the discussion around this UFC 286 headliner, is if “Rocky” Edwards can KO Usman once again – or will Usman pull off another dominant decision win?

At first glance, he is likely to succeed since Usman has overwhelmingly controlled Edwards for almost seven out of their eight rounds in the octagon, considering their initial fight.

Important factors to consider when betting on the fight include Usman’s mental state following his devastating knockout loss in the last bout. Such losses have impacted top fighters’ careers before, and it remains uncertain whether Usman can return to his former form.

The former champ, seemed to handle the KO loss well – but could it make Usman more gun-shy and hinder his performance? At 35 years of age, Usman will start slowing down and realistically Edwards should try and push the pace earlier in this fight.

The hype and buzz leading “Rocky” Edwards into this fight is real. I can’t deny he’s got his hands full with a hungry Kamaru Usman looking to prove a point. Going for the underdog here Leon Edwards to get the job done once again.

Betting on Edwards vs Usman Trilogy

Now that footage of Edwards drilling his infamous feint and low head kick has been released, we can expect to see the betting line become more narrow. Edwards took Usman’s hardest shots and had moments of success in the fight, but Usman’s return to using a more grappling-heavy approach started to bank him some later rounds at UFC 278.

After winning the opening round, Edwards claimed his body started to feel drained as the rounds progressed. The combination of fighting a wrestler like Usman and the elevation of Utah clearly impacted him. We saw this in the co-main also, with Paulo Costa and Luke Rockhold getting sloppy by the end of the first round, which proved to be Rockhold’s last UFC fight.

At this point of Usman’s career, as he approaches 36 years of age his best years are behind him. He’s defended the 170-lb strap five times and if he doesn’t win the trilogy against Leon Edwards it will likely be his last chance to become champion again.

The early betting value is on “Rocky” once again, if the champion can defend his title on home soil he has the record to go down as a UFC welterweight great.

Edwards on How Utah Elevation Impacted Him at UFC 278

“When we went out there, after the first round, I can’t explain it, my body just shut down. It was just a weird feeling. It wasn’t cardio, it was like my body just wasn’t reacting. In my head, I could think what I wanted to do, but my body just wasn’t doing it,” Edwards told the “MMA Hour” on Monday. “My 10 fights I had to get to this point to fight for the championship, I never looked like that in a fight, ever. Even when I was fighting, I was looking ahead like, ‘Man, what the hell is going on? Just keep pushing. I know he’s crafty and the body is feeling it, but just keep working and stay focused. It’s never over until it’s over.’ I stayed in there and got the clean head kick KO.

“If my body was reacting the way it was in the first round, the fight would have gone a totally different way. The first round, I felt normal. Then after that, my body just kind of shut down on me.”

“I was getting worried, for sure — 100 percent,” Edwards said. “The moment was so big for me, and it’s just my luck for that to happen. I thought, ‘Man, there’s no way this can happen, that it can play out like this.’ I said it all week, I feel like this is my moment. God brought me to this point to make this happen. That’s what kept playing in my head, there’s no way God brought me here for this just to go to a decision and finish like this. I had to just stay focused and listen to my team. Great motivation. They knew how to press my buttons, and they kept me in there and got the finish.

“That’s one of my worst performances ever in my career. To have my worst performance in the biggest moment of my life, it’s hard to explain how you feel mentally. It’s like what the f—. Come on. How is this playing out like this? It was difficult to go through, but it is what it is. That was Usman’s best performance, that was my worst performance, and he still couldn’t finish me. I finished him on my worst day.”

Meanwhile, Dana White’s search has already begun for Edwards’s next title defense. “We put a fight night on at the O2 [Arena] and it sells out in minutes. Imagine what we can do with this thing. It’s gonna be massive over there. We weren’t planning on going to England again. Just like last time I left England.”

Who’s your money on for the trilogy, comment below!

Edwards vs Usman 3 FAQ