UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman will defend his title Saturday against Jorge Masvidal in the main event of UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Florida. It will be the first UFC card in front of a capacity crowd since before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down spectator sports in March 2020.
ESPN has Usman ranked No. 2 in the world on its best pound-for-pound MMA fighters list. At welterweight, ESPN has Usman at No. 1 and Masvidal at No. 7.
At UFC 251 last year, Usman (18-1) beat Masvidal via unanimous decision in a fairly one-sided bout. But Masvidal came into that fight on just six days’ notice after Usman’s initially scheduled opponent, Gilbert Burns, tested positive for the coronavirus. Usman, 33, is looking for his fourth straight title defense and his 14th straight UFC victory.
If Usman, a Nigeria native who trains out of Colorado, were to win Saturday he alone would have the second-longest winning streak in UFC history. Currently, Usman is tied with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Jon Jones with 13 straight victories. Only Anderson Silva has more consecutive wins in UFC history (16).
Masvidal (35-14) is one of the biggest stars on the UFC roster. The Miami native was on a three-fight winning streak before falling to Usman last year. In 2019, Masvidal knocked out Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz in a span of eight months to become one of the hottest MMA athletes in the world. The latter was for the mythical BMF title at Madison Square Garden. Masvidal, 36, has been a pro fighter for almost 18 years but has just recently become one of the most popular MMA athletes in the world.
In the co-main event, Zhang Weili defends her UFC women’s strawweight title against former champion Rose Namajunas. Zhang (21-1) has not lost since her pro debut eight years ago, while Namajunas (9-4) has won four of five. ESPN has Zhang ranked No. 4 on its women’s MMA pound-for-pound list. Namajunas is right behind her at No. 5.
UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will also defend her title against former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade at UFC 261. Shevchenko (20-3) has never lost at flyweight in the UFC and has been defeated by only one woman since joining the promotion: bantamweight and featherweight champ Amanda Nunes. Andrade (21-8) has won five of her past seven fights, including a first-round TKO victory over Katlyn Chookagian last October in her flyweight debut. On ESPN’s women’s pound-for-pound list, Shevchenko is No. 2 and Andrade is No. 6.
Follow along with Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim as they recap the action as it happens or watch UFC 261 on ESPN+ PPV.
Fight in progress:
Women’s flyweight: Aori Qileng (15-6, 0-0 UFC, -110) vs. Jeffrey Molina (8-2, 0-0 UFC, -110)
Results:
Strawweight: Ariane Carnelossi (13-2, 1-1 UFC) defeats Liang Na (9-5, 0-1 UFC) by second-round TKO
What a way to start the night. The fans who arrived early for the first fight card with a capacity crowd in over a year were treated to one of the greatest rounds in UFC history. It was back-and-forth danger for five minutes, starting with Liang getting a knockdown with her first punch, a right hand to the chin seconds into the fight, then being dropped herself moments later during an exchange at center cage, with the still-sparse crowd roaring its approval.
From there, the fighters traded punches and grappling advantages for five high-gear minutes. Liang appeared a step ahead early on, seizing control on the canvas and landing damaging blows, but Carnelossi reversed position and went for an armbar, only to have Liang reverse back into control and into an armbar of her own.
What a first fight #UFC261 ????
— Amanda Nunes (@Amanda_Leoa) April 24, 2021
It was honestly tough to keep track of all the telling blows and positions. But the round ended with Carnelossi in side control, landing left hand after left hand, undefended. Referee James Folsom implored Liang to fight back. But then the horn sounded.
Liang just lay there until one of her cornermen came and got her, helping her to her stool. She looked finished. And she essentially was. Carnelossi took her to the canvas early in Round 2 and began landing blows again, which again were undefended. And Folsom stepped in at 1:28 to end it.
Carnelossi, who is 28 and from Brazil, got back on track after losing her UFC debut to Angela Hill in 2019, ending a 12-fight winning streak. Liang, a 24-year-old from China, saw a four-fight winning streak end in her UFC debut.
— Wagenheim
Still to come:
Welterweight title fight: Kamaru Usman (c) (18-1, 13-0 UFC, -450) vs. Jorge Masvidal (35-14, 12-7 UFC, +350)
Strawweight title fight: Zhang Weili (c) (21-1, 5-0 UFC, -200) vs. Rose Namajunas (10-4, 7-3 UFC, +170)
Women’s flyweight title fight: Valentina Shevchenko (c) (20-3, 9-2 UFC, -470) vs. Jessica Andrade (21-8, 12-6 UFC, +360)
Middleweight: Uriah Hall (17-9, 9-7 UFC, +105 ) vs. Chris Weidman (15-5, 11-5 UFC, -125)
Light heavyweight: Anthony Smith (34-16, 9-6 UFC, +170) vs. Jimmy Crute (12-1, 4-1 UFC, -200)
Welterweight: Alex Oliveira (22-9-1, 11-7-1 UFC, +125) vs. Randy Brown (12-4, 6-4 UFC, -150)
Welterweight: Dwight Grant (10-3, 2-2 UFC, -220) vs. Stefan Sekulic (12-3, 0-1 UFC, +180)
Middleweight: Karl Roberson (9-3, 4-3 UFC, +145) vs. Brendan Allen (15-4, 3-1 UFC, -160)
Men’s featherweight: Patrick Sabatini (13-3, 0-0 UFC, -240) vs. Tristan Connelly (14-6, 1-0 UFC, +200)
Men’s bantamweight: Danaa Batgerel (8-2, 1-1 UFC, -190) vs. Kevin Natividad (9-2, 0-1 UFC, +160)
Lightweight: Kazula Vargas (11-4, 0-2 UFC, +200) vs. Rong Zhu (17-3, 0-0 UFC, -240)
