There are 3 huge title fights set to take place at UFC 261, headlined by a rematch between the Nigerian Nightmare, Kamaru Usman and Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal.
Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal
The main event for the night sees Jorge Masvidal get another crack at Kamaru Usman in a bout that was personally requested by Usman himself to settle any debate about who is the better fighter
The last time these two met, Masvidal was a late call up to the fight, and as such, only had 6 days notice to prepare, meaning win or lose, there are no excuses this time around.
Usman remains unbeaten in the UFC, and touts a professional MMA record of 18-1-0, his only defeat coming 8 years ago.
Since their last match, Usman has only fought Gilbert Burns, the man he was originally scheduled to fight when Masvidal stepped in. Comfortably beating him, landing almost twice as many strikes and getting the TKO early into the third round.
Check Mate✌🏿!!! 👊🏿🌍🤴🏿 #AndStill pic.twitter.com/BN5lMb5m4l
— KAMARU USMAN (@USMAN84kg) February 20, 2021
Masvidal is a veteran of the game, with a UFC career spanning all the way back to 2007, and a professional MMA record of 35-14-0. After taking the names of Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz over a wildly successful 2019, Masvidal was given his shot against Usman, and despite going the distance, Usman was the clear winner via judges decision.
Usman is the most dominant fighter in his class, with wins over the best in the division, and while Masvidal is no slouch, he is smaller in size and reach than Usman, and is completely outclassed when it comes to grappling.
It awaits to be seen how much Masvidal’s camp has prepared him, however, he would have to fight a perfect fight and the bookies know this, hence pinning him as a big +300 underdog.
Usman is one of the best grapplers in the game and he has the ability to negate Masvidal’s greatest strength in his striking as we saw last time they met.
At -400, the price on Usman accurately reflects the advantage he has in this one, we wouldn’t be surprised to see this one go the distance again, but another win to Usman seems inevitable.
FanDuel Odds: Win
Kamaru Usman (-400)
Jorge Masvidal (+300)
FanDuel Method of Victory:
Kamaru Usman: Points (-120)
Kamaru Usman: KO/TKO (+280)
Weili Zhang vs Rose Namajunas
While Usman and Masvidal headline the event, all eyes are one Zhang Weili’s strawweight title defense against former champion, Rose Namajunas.
Since joining the UFC, Weili has consistently been one of the most exciting fighters on the roster, currently undefeated from 5 match ups, she has cruised past every challenge that has been thrown her way.
When Weili fights, the 🌏 takes note…
[ #UFC261 | Saturday on E+ PPV | https://t.co/yqAnGjETkZ ] pic.twitter.com/jTe0H4VjI8
— UFC (@ufc) April 24, 2021
Namajunas has earnt this fight, besting Joanna Jedzrejczyk in back to back bouts before losing to Jessica Andrade, only to bounce straight back with a third round win in a rematch.
Physically, Namajunas holds the advantage, but we have seen time after time that Zhang can go the distance, coupled with her clear edge striking wise, it’s hard to see any outcome that doesn’t end in Zhang’s hand held high.
FanDuel Odds: Win
Weili Zhang (-215)
Rose Namajunas (+172)
FanDuel Method of Victory:
Weili Zhang: Points (+155)
Weili Zhang: KO/TKO (+215)
Are you interested in finding out more on the latest of the UFC? Then make sure you visit our UFC hub page, we’ve got all the details you need!
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
Image By: Wikimedia Commons
