Kamaru Usman has lost top spot in the UFC pound for pound rankings after he suffered a knock out loss to Leon Edwards in a welterweight title fight.
Usman was on the way to securing another decision victory, but with just a minute remaining in the fight, Edwards caught his opponent with a head kick which knocked him clean out.
The Nigerian Nightmare’s reign as the UFC’s welterweight champion came to an end after five successful title defences, and he has also been demoted in the organisation’s pound for pound list.
Alexander Volkanivski moves up to first place in the pound for pound rankings.
Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has moved into first place on the pound for pound rankings as a result, while Israel Adesanya moves up to second, Charles Oliveira moves up to third and Usman drops to fourth.
Usman does remain above Edwards in the pound for pound list, with the Jamaican-British fighter moving up into sixth place in the rankings thanks to his victory.
Edwards hadn’t been ranked in the pound for pound list before his win against Usman, with the fighters now ranked seventh through to 15th all dropping one spot.
The moment it hit @Leon_EdwardsMMA what he just did 📸#UFC278 pic.twitter.com/Xa4lXZvhx5
— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2022
Kamaru Usman is hoping for a trilogy fight against Leon Edwards.
Usman has already stated his interest in fighting Edwards for a third time, in an attempt to win back the UFC welterweight title he first got his hands on back in 2019.
The first fight between the pair took place back in December 2015, with Usman winning by unanimous decision on that occasion.
Edwards hasn’t lost since then, as he has won 10 of his last 11 fights, with his bout against Belal Muhammad last year being ruled as a no contest due to an eye poke which saw the latter unable to continue.
Usman will be confident that he can win the third fight between himself and Edwards, as he was on his way to a decision victory on Saturday night, although he will now be more aware than ever of how things can go wrong in an instant.
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