Footage of Joe Rogan’s epic live reaction to Leon Edwards’ sudden KO on Kamaru Usman
Leon Edwards stunned the world with his knockout victory over Kamaru Usman at UFC 278. He took the welterweight title from the Nigerian in devastating fashion and handed him his very first loss with the promotion.
The crowd in Salt Lake City were absolutely stunned and perhaps none more so than UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The 55-year-old screamed and his eyes looked as though they were going to pop out of his head when he witnessed Edwards’ brutal kick to finish proceedings.
He stayed glued to his seat in utter disbelief at what he had just witnessed, as the audience around him erupted. Once he had composed himself, Rogan was full of praise for the Birmingham local’s devastating manoeuvre.
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“That was one of the most spectacular head-kick knockouts in the history of the sport — considering the stakes, considering the consequences,” Rogan said afterward on the pay-per-view broadcast. “I mean, it’s flawless – flawless technique. … The way he set it up with that left, Kamaru leaned to the right – perfect head kick, out cold.
“Nothing compares. It’s the greatest head-kick knockout in the history of the sport – with the most consequences, the most at stake, the most doubt, the most people counting him out, including us.” Edwards’ upset victory and ruthless manner in which he did so mirrors Holly Holm’s win over Ronda Rousey in 2015.
The 40-year-old’s head kick to the now WWE superstar to win the women’s bantamweight title, was also considered an upset as Rousey suffered her first UFC loss and her four-year reign had come to an end. Rogan and his fellow broadcasters, Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier, already had written Edwards off in the fight.
“It was like a movie,” Rogan added. “We were counting him out. We were thinking he was going to lose a decision. Kamaru Usman was dominating. He was controlling the rounds.” Following an impressive first round by Edwards after he successfully took down the 2010 NCAA Division Two national champion, Usman began to assume control of the fight.
![Leon Edwards KO'd Kamaru Usman shocked the world and won the UFC welterweight championship](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article27793787.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/1_UFC-278-Usman-v-Edwards-2.jpg)
(Image: Zuffa LLC)
Usman showed his class and why he had dominated the welterweight division so long as a stream of kicks and constant grappling began to wear the Brit down. As Edwards began to tire in the fourth, the 35-year-old produced a swift takedown and Usman looked likely to be winning on points as the fight progressed into the fifth round.
But Edwards had one last trick up his sleeve and a nifty feint lured Usman’s head to the side and left him exposed, and Edwards pounced and delivered the best head kick of his career to win the biggest fight of his career. Edwards is now uneaten in his last 11 fights and became the first British champion since Michael Bisping in 2016 and only the second in history.
He leapt over the cage in delight before holding the belt aloft with pride. “I can’t put it into words. It’s been a long four years,” he said in an emotional interview after his epic win. “They all doubted me, they all said I couldn’t do it. Look at me now! I’m from the trenches, I’m built like this. I go until the battle is done. I do it for everyone coming behind me. I told you it was possible. We can win a belt, from the UK.
“Look at me now. I told you I could do it. God is on my side. I said it all week, I felt like this is my moment. Everything that happened in the past – two years out, the pandemic, all of it. They all said I couldn’t come back and do it.”
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