The rematch between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards is getting closer. The confrontation is the main event of UFC 278, which takes place in Salt Lake City, in the United States, on August 20. Check out what to expect from the fight for the welterweight belt and the best bets for the most outstanding matches.

Kamaru Usman vs Leon Edwards

The big fight of the night is precisely the confrontation between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards, for the Welterweight Belt.

Usman pound-for-pound leader, owner of the welterweight belt. This is actually a rematch of the duel, but seven years late. The two fighters faced each other on December 19, 2015, when the Nigerian was not even the weight champion.

But one thing that hasn’t changed since then is Usman’s dominance. On that occasion he beat Edwards by points and reached seven wins in MMA, while having only one loss. After that there were 13 more presentations, all with victory. In this period he won four by knockouts and nine by decision of the judges.

There are already five belt defenses since he won the title in March 2019 by overcoming Tyron Woodley.

On the other hand, Leon Edwards also arrives with morals. After all, the loss to Usman was the last for the Jamaican, who scored nine wins and one fight without result against Belal Muhammad.

However, throughout his career, Edwards suffered defeat more times than his rival, with three setbacks against just one. By the way, Usman’s only stumble occurred in May 2013, when he was still starting out in MMA and was making his second presentation.

Usman v Edwards betting tips

Due to the impeccable trajectory, Kamaru Usman is the most quoted of the night, with 1.28 to 1.00. The Nigerian is indeed a favorite for everything he has shown so far.

Running on the outside, Leon Edwards offers 3.75 if he manages to get even with his rival and finally win the UFC welterweight title.

A good betting option to keep an eye on is round totals above 4.5. That’s because the two fighters usually decide only on points and the low number of knockouts brings the expectation of a long fight.

Winner	Odds
Kamaru Usman	1.28
Leon Edwards	3.75

Paulo Borrachinha vs Luke Rockhold

In the second big fight of the night, Paulo Borrachinha enters the octagon and tries to recover. The Brazilian started out very well in MMA and even scored an impressive 13 consecutive victories. Some of impact, like the one against Yoel Romero, in August 2019.

All this performance earned Borrachinha the opportunity to compete for the Middleweight belt, in 2020, against the unbeatable Israel Adesanya. The confrontation was not the best and the Brazilian ended up knocked out.

A little over a year later he returned to action and ended up defeated once again, against Marvin Vettori. This makes the fight at UFC 278 a chance for Borrachinha to regain his winning ways.

Luke Rockhold’s situation is not much different. But with the aggravating factor of more than three years of inactivity.

Rockhold experienced the greatest peak in his career in 2015, when he won the middleweight belt by defeating Chris Weidman. However, soon after, he lost the title to Michael Bisping. After that there were three presentations, with one victory and the two most recent defeats.

Borrachinha vs Rockhold betting tips

Due to the long inactive time of Luke Rockhold, the favoritism of this fight is of the Brazilian Paulo Borrachinha, who is quoted at 1.36 to 1.00 against 3.25 of his rival.

Another betting option is on total rounds below 2.5, which gives a return if the match is decided in the first two rounds. A possible outcome, as it was at this stage that four of Borrachinha’s six fights in the UFC ended.

Winner	Odds
Paulo Borrachinha	1.36
Luke Rockhold	3.25

Jose Aldo vs Merab Dvalishvili

One of Brazil’s great names in MMA, José Aldo will also be present at UFC 278. The fighter is living the best phase since the peak of 2011 to 2014.

On that occasion, Aldo scored seven consecutive victories defending the Featherweight belt. The title only escaped in December 2015, when he lost to Conor McGregor, with a knockout in the 1st round.

He would still win the interim belt in the following presentation by defeating Frankie Edgar, but soon lost it after being defeated twice by Max Holloway.

What followed was an unstable performance by Aldo, who won two fights but also lost three.

At Weight Bantamweight, the Brazilian seems to have finally found himself and now has three wins in a row. If he wins at UFC 278, he will be very close to receiving a new opportunity to seek the division title.

The challenge is great, as Merab Dvalishvili is having a good time. The athlete from Georgia even lost in his first two appearances for the UFC, but now he has won seven in a row and, like Aldo, is a name that dreams of a belt dispute.

Aldo v Dvalishvili betting tips

This fight is more balanced, but Merab Dvalishvili enters with slight favoritism, quoted at 1.80 to 1.00. His positive streak really makes him deserve more attention than José Aldo, who yields a little more with a win, 2.00.

An interesting possibility in this confrontation is also to bet that the fight will be decided by points.

Winner	Odds
Jose Aldo	2.00
Merab Dvalishvili	1.80

Marcin Tybura vs Alexandr Romanov

A fight for the top 10 of the Heavyweight division is also stirring at UFC 278. The great expectation here is around Alexander Romanov.

The athlete from Moldova is one of the names that are in evidence in the organization for reaching this stage of his career without knowing what defeat is. That’s 16 wins in 16 fights. Five of them even took place within the UFC.

More than just winning, Romanov has also shown versatility, with wins by submission and knockout. In this period acting in the UFC, only one triumph occurred on points.

Marcin Tybura, on the other hand, is more experienced, however, he has a career with greater oscillations. There are 29 presentations in all, with 22 triumphs and seven defeats.

The Pole was even going through a great phase, when he scored five consecutive triumphs, including two considered the best performance of the night. However, in October of last year he ended up defeated by Alexander Volkov, which lowered expectations around him a little.

Betting tips on Tybura vs Romanov

Undefeated, it is no surprise that Alexandr Romanov appears as the most likely for this duel, with odds of 1.28. In fact, he’s expected to keep up the momentum and finally break into the UFC Heavyweight Top 10. On the other side, Marcin Tybura appears as an underdog, priced at 3.75.

Considering Romanov’s history, the bet on the fighter’s victory by knockout brings an even greater return and is a very likely outcome.

Winner	Odds
Marcin Tybura	3.75
Alexander Romanov	1.28

Tyson Pedro vs Harry Hunsucker

Also on the Main Card, Tyson Pedro tries to consolidate his recovery in the UFC. After accumulating six consecutive triumphs, two of which at the beginning of his trajectory in the organization, Pedro went through an oscillation, with three setbacks and only one victory.

Only in April of this year, the Australian returned to perform and with the right to a knockout still in the first round against Ike Vilanueva.

Harry Hunscuker, on the other hand, has a much more modest trajectory. In all he made 12 appearances, with seven wins and five losses.

But besides the career not being exciting, the current phase is even worse. The American is coming off two losses by knockout, against Tai Tuivasa and Justin Tafa. Both still in the first round.

Pedro v Hunsucker betting tips

Due to these performances, Tyson Pedro is the big favorite for the fight, with odds of 1.12. An alternative to finding bigger numbers is to bet on a win in the first round. Which can be selected with triumph + total rounds below 1.5. Hunsucker enters as a big underdog, priced at 6.50.

Winner	Odds
Tyson Pedro	1.12
Harry Hunsucker	6.50

How to bet on UFC 278

To bet on UFC 278, you just need to register on one of the best sports betting sites, which are presented here. After that, you need to make a deposit with the amount you want to use in the guesses, or use your balance already available in the chosen house.

Then you need to access the sports menu and click on MMA, where you will find all the main scheduled fights. At this moment you will see the main bet, in the 1×2, in which you will indicate which fighter will win and the odds for it.

However, when clicking on a match you will have access to the entire market for that duel. Among the options you have the possibility to bet on the number of rounds and the form of rounds. Here you can be precise, aiming exactly or place bets by approximation.

There are also combined bets, in which you say which fighter will win, how it will happen and when the confrontation will end. As it has a higher degree of difficulty, consequently this bet guarantees higher odds.

These markets usually show quotes closer to the event.

Brazil in action at UFC 278

UFC 278 also draws attention due to the number of Brazilians. There are five athletes from the country in action and some arrive with the status of favorites. The selected names are: José Aldo, Paulo Borrachinha, Francisco Figueiredo, Léo Santos and Daniel Lacerda.

Of these, Aldo and Borrachinha are featured on the Main Card and you can check details of the two in the text above.

Of the others, Francisco Figueiredo brings the most expectations. The athlete has played three times in the UFC and has two wins and one loss. One of the triumphs took place in April of this year, with a submission in the first round against Daniel Lacerda.

Leonardo Santos is the other big name and who went through a good phase in the organization with eight fights without losing. However, last year he was surpassed by Grant Dawson and Clay Guida and, therefore, appears in a low.

The most pressured of all is Daniel Lacerda. The fighter arrived at the UFC last year and so far has accumulated two defeats. The first one by knockout against Jeff Molina and the last one was submitted precisely by Francisco Figueiredo.

UFC 278 full card

There are eight fights scheduled for the preliminary card and five for the main one. Therefore, there are 12 fights at UFC 278 to bet on.

MAIN CARD (23h, Brasilia time):

Welterweight: Kamaru Usman vs Leon Edwards

Middleweight: Paulo Borrachinha vs Luke Rockhold

Bantamweight: Jose Aldo vs Merab Dvalishvili

Heavyweight: Marcin Tybura vs Alexandr Romanov

Light Heavyweight: Tyson Pedro vs Harry Hunsucker

PRELIMINARY CARD (19h, Brasilia time):

Lightweight: Leo Santos vs Jared Gordon

Bantamweight: Wu Yanan vs Lucie Pudilova

Featherweight: Sean Woodson vs Luis Saldana

Flyweight: Miranda Maverick vs Shana Young

Welterweight: AJ Fletcher vs Ange Loosa

Flyweight: Amir Albazi vs Francisco Figueiredo

Bantamweight: Aori Qileng vs Jay Perrin

Flyweight: Daniel Miojo vs Victor Altamirano

Where to watch UFC 278?

UFC 278 is an exclusive broadcast event from Premiere Combate. Therefore, in order to watch the fights live, you need to subscribe to the channel.

Conclusion

UFC fights are interesting to bet on because they are events where the main result only has two possible outcomes. Also, UFC 278 in particular features a lot of matchups where you find huge favoritism on one side.

To top it off, it’s a sport with many markets. That’s why it’s worth analyzing each of the clashes and betting on this MMA event.