Costa vs. Rockhold and Aldo vs. Dvalishvili amongst UFC 278 fight lineup headlined by Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards

(L-R) Merab Dvalishvili, Jose Aldo, Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards, Paulo Costa, Luke Rockhold [Image via @ufc on Instagram]

According to a press release, UFC 278 will be headlined by a welterweight title fight between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards. Paulo Costa will take on Luke Rockhold in a middleweight affair, and former featherweight champion Jose Aldo will clash with No.6-ranked Merab Dvalishvili. The event will take place at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on August 20.

MMA journalist Aaron Bronsteter posted the update on Twitter:

The UFC have issued a press release announcing UFC 278 will take place in Salt Lake City, headlined by Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards.

Other confirmed bouts include Aldo vs. Dvalishvili and Costa vs. Rockhold in addition to those listed here: https://t.co/DjJYvnLsXp

The main event is a rematch of Usman and Edwards' first encounter that took place seven years ago in 2015. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ defeated ‘Rocky’ via unanimous decision.

Since then, he has run through the entire division and grabbed the welterweight title in the process. Usman has defended his belt twice against Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington and once against Gilbert Burns. He will attempt a sixth title defense at Salt Lake City.

Leon Edwards’ last fight took place a year ago at UFC 263, where he defeated Nate Diaz. He has won nine of his last ten fights, with the bout against Belal Muhammad being declared a no-contest after an accidental eye poke. 'Rocky' will try to follow in the footsteps of Michael Bisping and become the second British champion in UFC history.

Paulo Costa will try to bounce back after two consecutive losses to Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori. He will welcome Luke Rockhold back to the octagon as the former middleweight champion returns after a three-year hiatus. In his last outing, he was knocked out by Jan Blachowicz at light heavyweight.

Jose Aldo will look to extend his winning streak to four, while Merab Dvalishvili will aim to secure his eighth victory in a row.

Other matches include:

Amir Albazi vs. Francisco Figueiredo

Marcin Tybura vs. Alexandr Romanov

Leonardo Santos vs. Jared Gordon

Wu Yanan vs. Lucie Pudilova

Tyson Pedro vs. Harry Hunsucker

Daniel Lacerda vs. Victor Altamirano

Aoriqileng vs. Jay Perrin

A.J. Fletcher vs. Ange Loosa

Sean Woodson vs. Luis Saldana

UFC 278 will be the promotion's second event in Salt Lake City

The August event will be UFC's return to the state of Utah. The promotion visited Salt Lake City on August 6, 2016, with Yair Rodriguez taking on Alex Caceres in the headliner.

The fight went to a decision, with two judges scoring in favor of Rodriguez. Dennis Bermudez defeated Rony Jason by unanimous decision in the co-main event.

Chris Camozi was submitted by Thales Leites, which ignited a three-fight losing streak resulting in his release from the promotion. After that, Camozi fought in various promotions such as ACA and PFL and tested himself in a GLORY Kickboxing ring.

Road to UFC: Japan finalist Teruto Ishihara knocked out Horacio Gutiérrez in the first round, which secured him his only 'Performance of the Night' bonus. It was also the last octagon outing for Pride and Dream FC alumni Tetsuya Kawajiri. His decision loss to Cub Swanson led to his release and move to the newly formed RIZIN FF.

Interestingly enough, Marcin Tybura is the only fighter who fought in that event and will be a part of UFC 278.

Rodriguez vs Caceres this Saturday LIVE and FREE on @FS1!!! https://t.co/SVrk19dCZ4