UFC 286: The Basics and Updates

Londoners best buy their tickets before it’s too late, for UFC 286 in London’s O2 arena is approaching fast. Finding good seats will be brutal, as the headlining fight, Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman, is the rematch fans have been talking about since it was announced. We’re here to inform you of the basics and any updates that have occured since the fight was first announced. 

This will be the third fight between Edwards and Usman, which is why you might see the word “trilogy” thrown around when referring to the match. Edwards is currently the Welterweight Champion; Usman used to hold the title himself, but now he’s coming back to reclaim the belt.

The two men met up in 2015 at UFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs Cowboy 2. By unanimous decision, Usman won, but when they met up again at UFC 278 back in 2022, Edwards knockout blow in the fifth round brought him the redemption fans were waiting for. Now less than a year later, they’re facing off again. Whoever wins this third and final round will be considered Welterweight champion.

According to the UFC official website, the odds are +205 for Edwards and -245 for Usman.

UFC 286 will be held in The O2 Arena in London, England on March 18th.

Matchups and Times:

Early Prelims (12:00 PM CDT)

Flyweight Bout: Muhammad Mokaev (UK) vs Jafel Filho (Brazil)

Middleweight Bout: Christian Leroy Duncan (UK) vs Duško Todorović (Serbia)

Flyweight Bout: Jake Hadley (UK) vs Malcom Gordon (Canada)

Women’s Flyweight Bout: Jennifer Maia (Brazil) vs Casey O’Neill (Australia)

Lightweight Bout: Jai Herbert (UK) vs Ludovit Klein (Slovakia)

Women’s Flyweight Bout: Juliana Miller (US) vs Veronica Macedo (Poland)

Prelims (2:00 PM CDT)

Featherweight Bout: Jack Shore (UK) vs Makwan Amirkhani (Finland)

Lightweight Bout: Sam Patterson (UK) vs Yanal Ashmoz (Israel)

Main Card (4:00 PM CDT)

Welterweight Title Bout: Leon Edwards (UK) vs Kamaru Usman (Nigeria)

Lightweight Bout: Justin Gaethje (US) vs Rafael Fiziev (Azerbaijan)

Women’s Flyweight Bout: Joanne Wood (UK) vs Luana Carolina (Brazil)

Welterweight Bout: Gunnar Nelson (Iceland) vs Bryan Barberena (US)

Middleweight Bout: Marvin Vettori (Italy) vs Roman Dolidze (Georgia)

Prices

This fight has been highly anticipated, so tickets aren’t going to be cheap.

Right now even the back seats of the arena are running over £800, while the front seats (if they’re not already taken), rack up just above the £5000 mark. Don’t expect them to go any lower unless you can find someone who has a last minute change of plans, but don’t count on it. You can buy tickets directly off of the UFC website, so avoid any other sites or you run the risk of being ripped off.

UFC 286 is also London’s first UFC pay-per-view event in about six years, so make sure you’re aware of the prices depending on where you view the show. This goes without saying: make sure you buy enough popcorn for the event, because we know it’ll be quite a treat.

Updates

We have a couple cancellations and one replacement to report. In case you haven’t noticed the absence, the featherweight fight between Nathaniel Wood and Lerone Murphy (both UK) for the prelims has been canceled after Wood withdrew due to a leg injury, which is understandable. It wouldn’t exactly be fair otherwise. It’s not known whether a replacement will be found, so as of now Lerone Murphy is also out of the show.

If you’re looking for the lightweight fight between Chris Duncan (Scotland) and Michal Figlak (Poland), you are out of luck. Figlak also withdrew due to an injury he sustained. It’s been said that he will be replaced by Omar Morales (Venezuela), but the UFC has yet to update their roster on their website, so we hesitate to announce it just yet.

Lastly, we’re sorry for any Daniel Rodriguez (US) fans out there, but he has withdrawn from the welterweight fight against Gunnar Nelson (Iceland). He withdrew for currently unknown reasons, but no matter the cause, the fight shall still go on. Bryan Baberena (US) has agreed to take his place

Conclusion

UFC 286 is bound to be an exciting event everyone is looking forward to. More details of the events, such as the odds of each match and the specifics of each fighter, will be located on the UFC’s official website. We will continue to keep an eye on the event and will give a rundown on the results of the fights once it’s all over. Enjoy the show!

Resources: 

https://www.ufc.com/tickets