Picture Credit: Twitter
The Vivint Arena in Utah is set to host the upcoming pay-per-view event as announced by the UFC on Monday. The event is expected to include a total of 12 fights. But the UFC hasn’t officially announced the order of the event. The event is scheduled for 20 August 2022 and also makes the return of the UFC to Utah after 2016.
UFC 278 will be headlined by Usman Kamaru and Leon Edwards for the Welterweight Championship. This will be the pair’s second bout as they first fought in 2015. The Nigerian pugilist came out victorious against Edward that night. But since then the Jamaican has been undefeated and has won 10 consecutive fights. Similarly, Kamaru as well has remained unbeaten so this fight could finally end two of the best winning streaks in the history of the sport.
Along with Usman vs. Edwards 2, the UFC have included Jose Aldo - Merab Dvalishvili bout in an important bantamweight bout as both fighters could make a case for a title shot. Aldo is on a three-fight winning streak with exceptional performances against Marlon “Chito” Vera and Rob Font. Similarly, Dvalishvili has remained undefeated in seven consecutive fights including an insane win against one-time title contender Marlon Moraes in his previous bout.
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will also make his long-awaited return to the octagon against Paulo Costa in the 185 pounds discipline. The fight was originally speculated to take place at UFC 277 in July 2022. Rockhold would want to come back on track after consecutive defeats against Jan Blachowicz and Yoel Romero. Undefeated heavyweight Alexandr Romanov would also like to move up the ranks as he takes on Marcin Tybura.
Entire 12-fight card for UFC 278:
Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards – UFC Welterweight title fight; Jose Aldo vs. Merab Dvalishvili; Luke Rockhold vs. Paulo Costa; Amir Albazi vs. Francisco Figueiredo; Marcin Tybura vs. Alexandr Romanov; Leonardo Santos vs. Jared Gordon; Wu Yanan vs. Lucie Pudilova; Tyson Pedro vs. Harry Hunsucker; Daniel Lacerda vs. Victor Altamirano; Aoriqileng vs. Jay Perrin; A.J. Fletcher vs. Ange Loosa; Sean Woodson vs. Luis Saldana