Leon Edwards v Kamaru Usman: UFC 286 in London sees British champion grab spotlight

UFC flyweight Molly McCann writes for BBC Sport about Leon Edwards' highly anticipated welterweight title defence against Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 in London on Saturday.

Birmingham's Edwards, 31, became just the second British UFC champion in history when he avenged a 2015 defeat to shock Usman in August, with their trilogy bout at the O2 Arena being billed as the biggest British MMA fight in history.

Can Edwards retain the title or will Usman spoil Rocky's homecoming?

Fighting is a funny thing.

You can go through a whole career and not really get the full respect you deserve until that one moment comes. And then everything changes overnight.

In prize fighting, sometimes the talent doesn't always mean that you're the best because you have to sell and you have to be a bit of a name.

Leon Edwards always had the talent, but he was never given enough time to speak and build the hype. But you can't beat a pound-for-pound great like Kamaru Usman and be ignored any more. His performances have made sure of that.

Leon might have been late, but he is at the party now.

Imagine everything he's overcome. He's inspiring not just to the countries he represents, Jamaica and England, but every fighter around the world.

When you look to someone and look for brilliant legacies and stories, I feel you always look for the underdog and Leon's story was always that. Leon's story is what legends are made of.

There's his backstory, the bust-up with Jorge Masvidal at UFC London in 2019 and being removed from the UFC rankings in 2020 for inactivity.

After beating Rafael dos Anjos in 2019, Leon didn't fight again for almost two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic and multiple fight cancellations.

He's taken fights with everyone but people pulled out, like when his bout with Khamzat Chimaev got cancelled three different times.

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It's like you get to the goal and then the goalposts get moved. The list goes on and on, but Leon just held his nerve and got there in the end.

He's the cream of the crop and he's where he deserves to be.

I've met Leon a couple of times and he's been absolutely lovely to me. I sent him a message on Instagram before his last fight. 'Good luck this weekend Leon lad, we're all backing you'. He replied: "Thank you Molly, appreciate it, let's go!"

Leon's timing and his patience are his big strengths.

Obviously you could say his resilience and so much other stuff, but I feel like his patience is key. Just look at his win over Usman. He was losing that fight, getting outmuscled. But Leon doesn't react emotionally - he just stays present.

He knows when it's his moment. He produced one of the greatest moments in UFC title history as a result.

When Michael Bisping defended the middleweight title against Dan Henderson in 2016 it was such a cool era. I was made up for Bisping to do what he did on home soil, but you've got to remember everyone wanted to be like Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey.

Then you had Bisping, he was the one who was actually making it a tangible thing for British fighters to become a UFC champion.

I'd like to think Leon will have the same effect as Bisping. I think he deserves that.

He's carried himself well and always remained true to himself and to all of his people. Jamaica has a really rich heritage of brilliant, amazing culture. The food, the music, the fashion - I feel like Leon kind of embodies all of that.

And then he came to Britain and his community in Birmingham harnessed his potential, and made sure he utilised all of his natural attributes.

I can relate to that, because it's no secret how proud I am of being from Liverpool and how that's shaped me.

Leon Edwards celebrates beating Kamaru Usman at UFC 278

I first watched Usman on the UFC's 'The Ultimate Fighter'. His work ethic struck me, it was cool to see how hard he was willing to work for his family. I could admire that.

In person he is really genuine. In fighting and showbiz when people are on the mic, they're having to sell the fight, so I'm not sure we always see his authentic self, but when you meet him, he's an OK kind of cat.

There's no question about Usman's talents. When he went to his new coach Trevor Whitman, he found another gear that former coach Henri Hooft never got out of him.

Hooft had him kicking, kneeing and elbowing but Whitman really made him understand his range, how key his jab is and how to set his striking shots up.

I really think this fight will be different to the rematch last year. We've seen two fights between these guys now and I think Usman is going to try and wrestle harder and for longer, and secure more on the floor.

That said, Leon's mentally stronger than he's ever been.

I can't see a finish this time, I think it will go the distance, but I'm going to put my bet on Leon. We all wanted him to win last time and he's given us the belief he can do it again. Trust me, it was no fluke.

A quick word on Wales' Jack Shore too, who faces Makwan Amirkhani on the undercard.

Jack's on a comeback fight, moving up to featherweight after losing the first fight of his career to Ricky Simon.

I believe we're going to see the best Jack Shore we've ever seen. There is nothing quite like walking out as a Briton and fighting at home, I absolutely love it.

I got asked to be on the card but I needed to recover. I fought three times in 2022. Over the past 18 months I've given everything to the UFC and the fans, and my body and my mind needed to rest and catch up.

I knew it would be good to appreciate this UFC London as I've been on the last cards, fighting on three with one being cancelled due to Covid.

I have missed a lot of St Patrick's Days for UFC London... I'm going to enjoy a Guinness watching this one, I'll tell you.