BEVERLY HILLS, April 24, (THEWILL) – In the main event of Saturday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 261 of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighting, Kamaru Usman, the Nigerian-American professional MMA artist, will be defending his UFC welterweight title in a rematch against the American, Jorge Masvidal.
In July last year, “The Nigerian Nightmare”, as Kamaru is nicknamed, rolled to victory via a unanimous decision win against Masvidal at UFC 251.
After defeating Gilbert Burns in February in the third round of the UFC 258 main event from the Las Vegas UFC Apex venue, in the third defence of his welterweight crown, he faces the challenge of a contender he previously defeated in July.
Ranked number three in the men’s pound-for-pound standings, Usman, who has an 18-1 record, kicked off his 2021 campaign with that impressive TKO win over former teammate Gilbert Burns, but will be fighting in front of crowds for the first time since the pandemic forced the exclusion of fans from UFC events.
After his unanimous victory over Masvidal in the July fight, Usman has gone on to sensational victories against challengers like Colby Covington, Tyron Woodley and Rafael Dos Anjos. His focus is on retaining his title as he faces the fourth title defense so far and the determination to demonstrate that beating Masvidal the first time was not a fluke.
For the American, with a 35-14 record and fighting out of Miami, Florida, the rematch is his opportunity make good of his potential. As the fighter with the fastest KO in UFC history at six seconds over Ben Askren in 2019, he has also delivered spectacular stoppage wins against strong opponents as Nate Diaz, Donald Cerrone and Darren Till.
The rematch allows Masvidal the double-pronged opportunity to not only even the score with Usman but also to capture the UFC welterweight championship, as more than adequate bonus.
In the other co-main bout on the card, Zhang Weili puts her UFC strawweight title on the line against former UFC champion Rose Namajunas. There will also be Valentina Shevchenko defending her flyweight belt against Jessica Andrade on the main card.
It will be thrilling for UFC fans who will be in the crowd as the fighting championship welcomes back fans at full capacity when it returns to VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. on Saturday for this stacked card of three championship bouts.
It holds the promise of exciting fights, the change or retention of titles and a sense of the gradual return to normalcy in the sporting world.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
