The UFC’s ninth pay-per-view event of the year took place Saturday with UFC 278 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.
The main event saw a new champion crowd, with Leon Edwards (19-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) scoring a fifth-round knockout of Kamaru Usman (20-2 MMA, 15-1 UFC) to claim the welterweight title, making history in the process.
For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 278.
Event stats
The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $226,000.
Paulo Costa, Luke Rockhold, Edwards and Victor Altamirano earned $50,000 UFC 278 fight-night bonuses.
UFC 278 drew an announced attendance of 18,321 for a live gate of $4,297,655, which was an arena record.
Betting favorites went 8-3 on the card. One fight ended in a draw.
Betting favorites fell to 18-11 in UFC headliners this year.
Total fight time for the 12-bout card was 2:28:22.
Leon Edwards def. Kamaru Usman
Edwards became the first Jamaican-born UFC champion.
Edwards became the second British titleholder in UFC history. Michael Bisping also accomplished the feat.
Edwards’ 10-fight UFC unbeaten streak at welterweight is the longest active streak in the division.
Edwards’ victory at the 4:04 mark of Round marked the fourth-latest stoppage in a UFC championship fight.
Usman had his 19-fight winning streak snapped for his first defeat since May 2013.
Usman suffered the first knockout loss of his career.
Paulo Costa def. Luke Rockhold
Costa (14-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has earned his past two victories by decision after his previous 12 wins came by stoppage.
Rockhold’s (16-6 MMA, 6-5 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since September 2017.
Rockhold suffered the first decision loss of his career.
Merab Dvalishvili def. Jose Aldo
Merab Dvalishvili’s (15-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) seven-fight UFC winning streak at bantamweight is tied with Aljamain Sterling for the longest active streak in the division.
Dvalishvili has earned 11 of his 15 career victories by decision. That includes seven of his eight UFC wins.
Jose Aldo (31-8 MMA, 13-7 UFC) fell to 3-3 since he dropped to the bantamweight division in December 2019.
Lucie Pudilova def. Wu Yanan
Lucie Pudilova (14-7 MMA, 3-5 UFC) was successful in her return to the UFC for a second stint. She earned her first octagon victory since February 2018.
Wu Yanan’s (11-6 MMA, 1-5 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since November 2018.
Yanan has suffered both of her career stoppage losses by knockout.
Tyson Pedro def. Harry Hunsucker
Tyson Pedro (9-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) had earned all nine of his career victories by first-round stoppage.
Pedro became the fourth light heavyweight in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a body kick, joining Marcin Prachnio, Jan Blachowicz and Rich Franklin.
Harry Hunsucker (7-6 MMA, 0-3 UFC) suffered three consecutive losses for the first time in his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since February 2021.
Hunsucker was unsuccessful in his light heavyweight debut.
Hunsucker has suffered all six of his career losses by knockout.
Marcin Tybura def. Alexandr Romanov
Marcin Tybura (23-7 MMA, 10-6 UFC) became the 18th heavyweight in UFC history to reach 10 octagon victories.
Alexandr Romanov (16-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) had his 16-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career
Jared Gordon def. Leonardo Santos
Leonardo Santos’ (18-6-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since July 2020.
Santos suffered his first decision loss since May 2, 2009 – a span of 4,858 days (more than 13 years) and 16 fights.
Jared Gordon (19-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) improved to 4-4 in UFC lightweight competition.
Gordon has earned six of his seven UFC victories by decision.
Ange Loosa def. A.J. Fletcher
A.J. Fletcher (9-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career 9-0.
Fletcher has suffered both of his career losses by decision.
Amir Albazi def. Francisco Figueiredo
Amir Albazi (15-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has earned 13 of his 15 career victories by stoppage.
Francisco Figueiredo (13-5-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has suffered three of his five career losses by stoppage.
Aori Qileng def. Jay Perrin
Jay Perrin (10-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has suffered five of his six career losses by decision.
Victor Altamirano def. Daniel da Silva
Daniel Da Silva’s (11-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since July 2021.
Da Silva has suffered all four of his career losses by stoppage.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 278.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
