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BetZillion brings you expert UFC fight night picks and predictions for Kamaru Usman vs Leon Edwards bout, with top odds courtesy of the best UFC betting sites.
In this betting preview, we will take a closer look at the 2 fighters, their stats, performance in 2022, Usman vs Edwards odds, and offer you our expert betting picks on the event with the latest betting odds courtesy of the top-rated UFC bookmakers.
The heavily-anticipated bout between Usman and Edwards will go down on Saturday, August 21, in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the card’s main event, featuring 2 of the world’s top MMA fighters competing for the welterweight title. But this will be an exciting fight to watch, promising many highlights and top-level MMA, but it’s also a clash with plenty of betting opportunities.
Great supportMobile appsLive bettingLive bettingMany sportsFast payoutsWelcome offersFast payouts24/7 supportVIP programLive gamesMany bonusesMany sportsIn-play modeLive streamingStill, the sportsbook seems to have a pretty good idea of who’s coming out on top, with the Usman vs Edwards odds showing the former as a heavy favourite to win the next fight. Priced as low as 1/4, Usman is heavily favoured over Edwards, priced at 3/1, which makes sense.
Usman is arguably one of the best MMA fighters we’ve seen in the welterweight division in years, and until proven otherwise, he is the most likely winner of any fight ahead of him. Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean that there are no opportunities to make money, even at the very one-sided Kamaru Usman vs Leon Edwards odds offer.
The UFC 278 will be the second time Usman and Edwards have met. Usman won the first fight by unanimous decision and was the clear better fighter on the scorecard, but that was way back in 2015, so we wouldn’t put too much weight on that fight.
Since then, both have developed into elite-level fighters, guaranteeing that the next fight will be an entirely different affair – even if the Usman vs Edwards betting odds suggest that Usman should cruise to another easy victory. Either way, one of the fighters’ streaks is getting derailed on Saturday.
Kamaru Usman is widely considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA, and it’s very hard to argue with that by looking at his record. The Nigerian-American fighter enters the next fight looking for his 6th defence of the welterweight title, having already brushed off Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal, and Gilbert Burns since he won over Tyron Woodley via a decision in March 2019.
Notably, his win against Covington in November 2021 marked Usman’s 20th career win (20-1) and his 19th straight. His last defeat came in May 2013, when he lost against Jose Caceres via submission at CFA 11.
On paper, Usman looks like a far more complete fighter, which isn’t too far from the truth. And even though Edwards is a worthy opponent, Usman has many advantages over his next opponent.
Most notably, Usman is a better striker with a vicious knockout power, which has helped him rise to the top of the MMA scene. However, we haven’t seen his striking power early into Usman’s career. He had used his newly discovered power to win 3 title defences by stoppage – most notably when he sent Jorge Masvidal to the ground with a sizzling right hand in 2021.
Compared to Edwards. Usman lands more significant strikes per minute (4.66 – 2.62) and has a better striking accuracy than Edwards, landing 53% of his strikes compared to Edward’s 49%. He also has a better striking defence, avoiding 59% of the strikes compared to Edward, who usually avoids 53%.
Leon Edwards enters this fight with a 19-3 record, which is nothing to sneeze at. He had won 9 of his last 10 events, excluding the bout against Belal Muhammad, which ended in no contest, meaning that Edwards had not lost a fight since December 2015 – when he got stopped by no other than Usman.
Since then, he has beaten Dominic Walters, Albert Tumenov, Vincente Luque, Bryan Barberena, Peter Sobotta, Donald Cerrone, Gunnard Nelson, Rafael doe Anjos, and most recently, Nate Diaz, who Edwards defeated via unanimous decision in June 2021.
Edwards might be a worse striker than Usman, but he has an edge in submissions. That might not be too evident looking at the Kamaru Usman vs Leon Edwards betting odds, which show Usman as the clear favourite, but the stats don’t lie.
Usman won just one fight by submission, which was way back in his UFC debut in 2015 when he defeated Hayder Hassan. But even that win doesn’t mean much for the next fight knowing that Hassan has a history of being submitted,
On the other side, Edwards has won 3 of his fights by submission, which isn’t strong evidence of his submission arsenal. On the other hand, Usman’s and Edwards’s lack of submission wins shows that they’re good enough in other areas, so they don’t need to rely on submissions to win their fights.
But it’s worth noting that heading into this UFC fight night, Edwards is a slightly better fighter in that department, attempting 0.35 submissions per minute compared to Usman’s 0.12. Yet interestingly, Usman has a higher jiu-jitsu belt ranking than Edwards – he has a black belt while Edwards has only a purple belt. Still, he is not better at submissions in MMA than Edwards.
The Usman vs Edwards fight is slated for Saturday, August 21, in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the main fight of the UFC fight night. It will mark the second meeting between the 2 fighters and the first since 2015 when Usman won.
For any MMA fan, this is a fight you shouldn’t miss, but unfortunately, you won’t be able to watch it on online live betting sites, as none will offer a live stream of the event. Instead, you should check out popular MMA live streaming platforms and pay the fee to watch what promises to be a highlights-filled bout between 2 of the best welterweight fighters in the world.
With all the basic information out of the way, it’s time to focus on our Usman vs Edwards betting tips and predictions, where we provide you with our top picks for the fight. So without further ado, here is our first Usman vs Edwards prediction.
Edwards is easily the toughest challenger Usman has faced, but it’s hard to imagine Usman losing this bout. Looking at their stats, Usman seems to have his challenger beat in almost every department and has a massive advantage of experience which he can lean on.
Still, Edwards should fare much better against Usman than Masvidal did, but even though we expect Edwards to fight, he will ultimately suffer the same fate. We don’t expect any KOs in the next fight, but when the final bell rings, Usman should come out on top.
There’s always a chance that Edwards upsets Usman, but even if he does, it’s unlikely to happen via submission or a KO. Usman is a highly experienced fighter that won’t go down easily, so Edward’s only chance of winning is to outscore the defending champion.
Since we expect the fight to go the distance, a bet on it at the offered Usman vs Edwards betting odds is a solid pick at a good price.
Usman and Edwards are not exactly known for finishing their fights early, and we don’t expect that to change this weekend. There isn’t much to explain why we decided to add over 4.5 rounds as our final selection on our Usman vs Edwards betting tips list.
That concludes our free MMA betting preview, providing you with 3 Usman vs Edwards predictions with the top odds courtesy of the top-rated MMA bookmakers. Although the title fight might look open on the surface, this should be Usman’s bout to lose.
Edwards is a solid fighter, and there is no denying that, but no matter how you look at it, there is a good reason why he’s the underdog since he isn’t at Usman’s level yet. He has already defended his title 5 times, and looking at the stats. It’s doubtful that he can’t do it for the 6th time.
