Who knocked out Kamaru Usman with a head kick at UFC 278?

Leon Edwards knocked out Kamaru Usman with a head kick at UFC 278.

The dramatic welterweight championship fight took place on August 20, 2022, at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. It was a rematch: Usman had defeated Edwards by unanimous decision in 2015, and by UFC 278 he was the pound-for-pound-ranked champion with a long unbeaten run.

Usman was ahead on the judges’ scorecards and appeared close to retaining the title when Edwards changed the fight in the final minute of the fifth round. He moved laterally, raised his lead leg, and landed a left high kick that struck Usman on the head. Edwards followed with punches as referee Herb Dean stopped the contest at 4:04 of round five.

The comeback became one of the most memorable finishes in UFC history. Edwards became the second British-born UFC champion and completed a remarkable turnaround after visibly struggling during the middle rounds. The result is often called a “last-minute” knockout, but the official time matters: the head-kick finish came with less than a minute remaining in the scheduled 25-minute bout.