With less than a minute remaining in the UFC 278 match, Edwards, 31, who had been trailing for the duration of the time, produced a head kick as a last-ditch effort to knock out Usman.
British boxer, Leon Edwards, performed one of the greatest comebacks in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) history, after knocking out Nigeria’s Kamaru Usman earlier this month, but the Brit has been charged with purposeful cheating during the title battle.
With less than a minute remaining in the UFC 278 match, Edwards, 31, who had been trailing for the duration of the time, produced a head kick as a last-ditch effort to knock out Usman.
According to the Mirror UK, with the victory, "Rocky" became the first Jamaican-born and second British champion in UFC history, but he has since come under fire for allegedly clutching the fence more than once prior to delivering the Hail Mary kick.
MMA analyst, Chael Sonnen said, "There’s a lot more in Edwards versus Usman and nobody spoke of it. Leon cheated in that match a whole bunch of times. That is not a headline or a topic that is out there anywhere. I do not want to be the one to bring that to you. I’m not giving Leon a hard time, for the story to be told accurately, nobody’s wanting to touch.
"Leon was frustrated in positions and had no way out of positions to the extent that he cheated repeatedly, not once, not an accident, not that the referee didn't see it. The referee broke the act five or six times, but Kamaru has never called Leon a cheater. Leon changed the position and got out of it three times by cheating."
Referee Herb Dean never docked Edwards during the fight for his fence grabs. Usman was also admonished by Dean to stop sticking his fingers in the cage, so it wasn't simply Edwards who clutched the rail during the fight.
As the battle entered the final round, Sonnen questioned whether Edwards' fence grips allowed him to stay on his feet and maybe prevented Usman from submission-finishing him on the mat.