Vivint Arena To Host UFC 278: Usman Versus Edwards 2
Jun 12, 2022, 9:39 AM
In this handout image provided by UFC, Kamaru Usman of Nigeria reacts after his victory over Gilbert Burns of Brazil in their UFC welterweight championship fight during the UFC 258 event at UFC APEX on February 13, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Vivint Arena announced the return of the Ultimate Fighting Championship to Salt Lake City, Utah as the venue will host UFC 278.
The upcoming fight was revealed during UFC 275 on June 11.
UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2
The event will take place at the home of the Utah Jazz on Saturday, August 20.
UFC 278 will be headlined with the main card of Kamaru “Nigerian Nightmare” Usman vs. Leon “Rocky” Edwards. Usman will look to defend his welterweight title against Edwards.
This rematch comes with much higher stakes 🏆@Usman84KG vs @Leon_EdwardsMMA
[ #UFC278 | Aug 20 | @VivintArena | @StateOfSport 🔗 https://t.co/MZCFJcbyqL ] pic.twitter.com/9JYMQUVM4F
— UFC (@ufc) June 12, 2022
UFC.com has Usman ranked as the top-ranked fighter in the world and Edwards as the third-best welterweight.
ESPN ranks Usman as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Edwards is ranked No. 4 among welterweights.
Usman and Edwards previously fought in 2015. Usman won the first bout by unanimous decision.
In UFC 278, Usman will look to earn his 16th straight fight, which would tie Anderson Silva’s record. Usman owns a career record of 20-1. He last fought in November 2021 and was recently recovering from a broken hand. Usman’s only loss came to Jose Caceres in 2013, his second fight in UFC. Usman’s last six cards have been title fights, all resulting in victories for the Nigerian. Usman also had another title fight earlier in his career in 2015. Nine of Usman’s career wins have come by (T)KO.
Edwards will enter the fight having won his last 10 fights. He owns a 19-3 career record with one no contest. Edwards’ last fight was in June 2021. Edwards’ no contest fight occurred in March 2013. His last loss was to Usman in their first fight in 2015. Six of Edwards’ career wins have come by (T)KO.
JUST ANNOUNCED: @ufc returns to #VivintArena on Saturday, August 20 with a welterweight championship bout headlined by No. 1 men's pound-for-pound fighter Kamaru Usman and No. 2 ranked contender Leon Edwards. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 24 at 10:00 am. pic.twitter.com/OYsCtrU3x4
— Vivint Arena (@vivintarena) June 12, 2022
It will be the second time that Salt Lake City has hosted a UFC fight night. The first UFC event was Yair Rodriguez vs. Alex Caceres in August 2016. It will be Salt Lake City’s first-ever pay-per-view card event.
UFC 278 will begin at 4 p.m. (MDT) on August 20.
Tickets for UFC 278 will go on sale on Friday, June 24 at 10 a.m. (MDT) and can be purchased via Ticketmaster.com.
