Watch Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman have intense face-off ahead of UFC 286 trilogy fight at O2 Arena

LEON EDWARDS and Kamaru Usman went face-to-face for the first time since their epic rematch last year.

Brummie bruiser Edwards dethroned the pound-for-pound and welterweight king Usman last August with a stunning Hail Mary headkick in the fifth round of their UFC 278 showdown.

Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman will renew their rivalry this weekend at UFC 286GETTY

Edwards dethroned Usman with a stunning head kick at UFC 278 last AugustGETTY

GETTYEdwards and Usman took part in a heated face off ahead of their trilogy[/caption]

Victory for the 31-year-old set up a mouthwatering trilogy fight, which headlines UFC 286 at The O2 Arena on Saturday night.

And the pair took place in a heated face-off on Thursday evening at Magazine London.

Usman had to endure a barrage of boos throughout the presser and as he made his way towards Edwards.

Edwards, meanwhile, was greeted with chants of ‘Rocky, Rocky, Rocky’ and ‘head shot, dead!’

The slick southpaw is brimming with confidence ahead of his first title defence, which he reckons could lead to the end of Usman’s career.

He said: “I think something is out of the door already and I’m going to add to that, just from his mentality and the way he’s moving.

“Whether he retires after or not, that’s up to him.

“I heard he flew a stylist over here, our mentalities are in two different places.

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“I feel like he’s on his way out and I’m going to open that door, give him another path to follow his fashion dreams and whatever he wants to do.”

He added: “Going into the fight he thought he could never be taken down, hurt or knocked out.

“I think he has find something to clutch onto, he was winning the fight by who cares. It goes down as him getting knocked out cold.

“That’s all that matters when it’s said and done.

“Even on my worse day and worse performance I still knocked him out, so winners win.”