It has been a wild month for the UFC, first starting with the UFC 285 monster card, then following it up with a stacked UFC Las Vegas ticket last weekend. This weekend’s UFC 286 live stream pay-per-view from the O2 in London looks promising to continue the run going. In the main event, Kamaru Usman looks to reclaim the welterweight title he lost last year in a stunning conclusion to Leon Edwards. In the co-main event, No.3 lightweight Justin Gaethje aims to hold onto his Top 5 standing, starting the week as +195 underdog to No.6 Rafael Fiziev.
UFC 286 Live Stream Details
- When: Saturday, March 18, 2023
- Early Prelims Start Time: 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT
- Prelims Start Time: 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT
- Main Card Start Time: 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT
- Location: O2 Arena – London, United Kingdom
- UFC 286 Live Stream: ESPN+ / ESPN+ PPV
As with most international events, UFC 286 caters to the United Kingdom and Europe. In addition to the champion, Edwards, fighting to defend his belt, nine others on the card call the UK home. Of them, Chris Duncan, Sam Patterson, and Christian Leroy Duncan will make their Octagon debuts in front of their compatriots.
Main Event Preview
He may be called the “Nigerian Nightmare”, but Usman (20-2-0) himself has surely woken up in a cold sweat a time or two since losing to Ewards (20-3-0) last August. It was a finish that nobody saw coming. Ahead on the scorecards and seemingly coasting in the final round to a sixth successful title defense, Usman was playing it loose. Too loose. Inside the final minute of the fifth round, Edwards delivered a knockout head kick that crumpled the champion. It honestly took a minute to realize just what happened.
Now slated for their trilogy fight, Edwards has the chance to show last summer wasn’t a fluke and close the book on the former pound-for-pound champion for good. He was a considerable underdog last time at +280 and is getting a bit more respect this time around at +195. A strong finish for a title will have that effect. Still, expect Usman to go the distance this time, should it come to that.
In their last championship fight, Usman outstruck Edwards 83-55 in significant strikes. Edwards was also taken down five times. One has to believe that the champion will have to pick up the pace and press more if he wants to defend his belt. The sportsbooks appear to be of a similar mind. Usman is favored -115 to win by decision, with a KO/TKO victory for Usman being the second most-likely result at +350. Edwards is +450 to win by knockout and +550 to get the decision. The first three rounds could really get wild.
UFC 286 Fight Card and Odds*
*Odds subject to change
Main Card
- (C) Leon Edwards (+195) vs #1 Kamaru Usman (-230) – Welterweight Title
- #3 Justin Gaethje (+195) vs #6 Rafael Fiziev (-230) – Lightweight
- Gunnar Nelson (-380) vs Bryan Barberena (+310) – Welterweight
- #8 Jennifer Maia (+150) vs #12 Casey O’Neill (-175) – Women’s Flyweight
- #4 Marvin Vettori (-265) vs #9 Roman Dolidze (+225) – Middleweight
Preliminary Card
- #15 Jack Shore (-490) vs Makwan Amirkhani (+390) – Featherweight
- Chris Duncan (-115) vs Omar Morales (-105) – Lightweight
- Sam Patterson (-275) vs Yanal Ashmoz (+230) – Lightweight
- #12 Muhammad Mokaev (-800) vs Jafel Filho (+575) – Flyweight
Early Preliminary Card
- Lerone Murphy (-175) vs Gabriel Santos (+150) – Featherweight
- Christian Leroy Duncan (-210) vs Dusko Todorovic (+180) – Middleweight
- Jake Hadley (-380) vs Malcolm Gordon (+310) – Flyweight
- Joanne Wood (-180) vs Luana Carolina (+155) – Women’s Flyweight
- Jai Herbert (+135) vs Ludovit Klein (-155) – Lightweight
- Juliana Miller (-425) vs Veronica Macedo (+340) – Women’s Flyweight
For more on betting MMA, check out our Beginners Guide to MMA Betting.
