How it unfolded
Kamaru Usman was riding a 19-fight win streak, five welterweight title defenses deep, and rated the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. The two had already fought once in 2015, a decision win for Usman, and Leon Edwards had since earned this title shot on a ten-fight unbeaten streak. The first round belonged to Edwards, who scored a takedown, took the back and hunted a choke. But from round two Usman regained control with wrestling and boxing, taking rounds three and four, and all three judges had him ahead as the fifth round reached its midpoint. With 56 seconds left, Edwards switched to a southpaw stance and threw a left high kick. It landed clean on Usman's temple, and Usman collapsed on the spot, unconscious. At 4:04, Edwards became just the second British-born UFC champion, after Michael Bisping, and the first champion of Jamaican birth.
Why it still matters
A fight Edwards was losing on the scorecards was flipped in the final minute, the most dramatic proof of MMA's central proposition that no lead is ever safe. It also marked both the peak and the turning point for the era of African-born champions, and it set up a trilogy fight between the two men as well as an expansion of the British MMA market.