UFC 261 Main Event Previews and Predictions
Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal II takes place in two weeks, and both fighters are looking to cement their legacies. The fake champ, aka the BMF, takes on his toughest task so far on April 24th at UFC 261. In their first meeting, Usman controlled the fight and cruised to a unanimous decision victory (50-45 50-45 49-46). I promise the last score was completely out of left field, and the fight was never that close.
Masvidal attributed his loss to the fact that he took the fight on 6 days notice, but to be honest, I don’t see anything changing in the second fight. Usman is the superior fighter in quite literally all aspects of the fight. From striking to wrestling, Usman has the advantage regardless of where you look.
Usman most recently defeated his friend and former teammate, Gilbert Burns at UFC 258. The fight ended in a TKO at the beginning of round 3. Masvidal has not fought since he lost to Usman in July of 2020 but insists that he can beat Usman this time around. To be honest, between the ring rust, and the superiority of Usman’s skills, I do not see this fight going past the third round. If somehow this fight does go to a decision, I see it going just as the first fight did, a lopsided victory to Usman.
In a sit-down interview with Ariel Helwani, Masvidal of course referred to his weight cut and short notice as his downfall in the first fight. While cutting weight and short notice can be a tough hill to climb in a world championship fight, the numbers speak for themselves. Usman had a three to one advantage in strikes over Masvidal, landed at a higher accuracy rate, and had five takedowns to Masvidal’s zero. At the end of the day, Usman will leave UFC 261 as the undisputed welterweight champion of the world. #AndStill
