How is Majority Decision scored in the UFC? Explaining the Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman UFC 286 scorecard

Leon Edwards successfully defended his welterweight throne against Kamaru Usman at UFC 286.

Both competitors fought in a high-level MMA encounter that thoroughly entertained fight fans. Edwards' leg kick-heavy strategy paid off as it substantially slowed down Usman in the later rounds. Although Edwards had a point deducted for fence grabbing in the second round, he still managed to prevail on the judges scorecards by majority decision.

While judges Ben Cartlidge and Chris Lee scored the bout 48-46 in favor of Leon Edwards, David Lethaby scored the contest a draw.

In the UFC, a majority decision occurs when two of the three judges score the contest in favor of one of the fighters, while the third judge rules the fight a draw. In such a fight, the fighter who comes out on top on the scorecards of the majority of the judges ultimately prevails.

On the same night, Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev engaged in a back-and-forth slugfest that was ultimately won by the more resilient fighter. Over the entire 15 minutes, the lightweights went to war, but Gaethje's power and continuous offensive onslaught gave him the edge.

Judge Paul Sutherland scored the first two rounds in favor of Fiziev but gave round three to Justin Gaethje with a 10-8 score, resulting in a majority decision victory for the American with scores of 29-28, 29-28, and 28-28.

Conor McGregor famously avenged his loss to rival Nate Diaz at UFC 202 via split decision. With six split/majority decisions, UFC286 is tied with The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated Finals for the most in UFC history.

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Colby Covington throws shade at Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman ahead of their UFC 286 main event clash

Colby Covington is back to being his contentious, unfiltered self, making a surprise comeback as the backup fighter for the UFC 286 main event clash between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman.

Covington hasn't fought since his unanimous decision victory over rival Jorge Masidal in a grudge bout at UFC 272. The former UFC interim welterweight champion has already fought for the undipsuted title twice against Kamaru Usman.

Now that Leon Edwards has captured and defended the welterweight championship, Covington is determined to get a fight against 'Rocky' next. While previewing Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman in a recent interview, Covington stated:

"You know, I don't really have a prediction. I just wanna see a good fight. You know, hopefully they [Edwards and Usman] fight their hearts out. Cause now they gotta come see Daddy next. They gotta come see the man. The man that drew all their ratings. Everybody was talking me this weekend. They weren't talking about them. No one cares about them. They have no charisma. Those guys, they don't do anything."

Check out the interview below: