After Edwards (19-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) won the welterweight title from Usman (20-2 MMA, 15-1 UFC) with a stunning fifth-round head knockout at Saturday’s UFC 278 at Vivint Arena, A whole new world of opportunity has opened up for promotion in England. The UFC has never hosted a stadium event at Edwards’ ground, but White admits there is some serious temptation to host the rubber match at London’s Wembley Stadium, which has a capacity of around 90,000. Historically, however, White has been very durable in outdoor spaces, and that hasn’t necessarily changed. “How come you don’t — f*ck, Wembley,” White told MMA Junkie and other post-fight reporters at the UFC 278 post-fight press conference. “I don’t know. Yeah (I want to do it in England). … We could go to England any time we want now. We could go to England – we used to sell out England before. Now look, you’re making a bigger arena? I’m scared to go out and I’m definitely scared to go out to England. I’m serious but I’m joking about England. Anything is possible in England now. It would be fun, but it’s scary at the same time. The weather isn’t the best in England.” Fortunately for White, the promotion will have some time to figure out the best path forward. Usman is likely to serve a fairly lengthy medical suspension after such a brutal knockout, and with the UFC calendar already booked for the first month of 2023, White said there’s not necessarily a rush to figure anything out. “I don’t think (Edwards) should be sitting and waiting anyway because of the knockout,” White said. “I don’t think he should have to wait that long. He would have to go back to camp and start training anyway. First of all, we should have the date. We’re all booked through January – I think we’re booked for January now. We won’t wait for him, even if it’s a rematch.” White said Edwards’ title-winning knockout was another reflection of the crazy, unpredictable nature of MMA. He believed Usman was on track to record another title defense, but in the blink of an eye, everything changed. “You think about everything that was on the line for Usman tonight, and Usman wrestled with complete and utter confidence all night,” White said. “He gave the perfect match. It might not have been the most fan-friendly style, but he landed big shots to the body, big shots to the head, elbows. I couldn’t have fought a more perfect race until the last minute. “It’s just how crazy the sport is. This is what makes this sport the greatest sport in the world. That you can sit down for four rounds and four minutes and that can happen in a fight. Anything is possible in this sport. Every time we do a fight and it’s like, ‘This is a one-sided fight – there are no one-sided, one-sided fights in this sport. Everything is possible. I told you this week, the problem with this fight is that people won’t give Leon enough credit and he’s a very dangerous opponent. Wow.” For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 278.
