UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman dominated Jorge Masvidal final yr over 5 rounds, however he wasn’t happy with that efficiency — he thought he may do higher.
Usman put a stamp on his rivalry with Masvidal on Saturday evening, dropping him with a crushing proper hand and following up on the bottom for a knockout victory at 1 minute, 2 seconds of the second spherical in the primary occasion of UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Florida.
With the victory, Usman defended his 170-pound title. It was the primary time the famously sturdy Masvidal had been completed by KO/TKO since 2008.
“Jacksonville, Florida — y’all mentioned you wished violence?” Usman mentioned in his postfight interview. “You are welcome.”
ESPN had Usman ranked No. 2 on the earth on its greatest pound-for-pound MMA fighters listing coming in. At welterweight, ESPN has Usman at No. 1 and Masvidal at No. 7. Now, Usman needs to be thought of not solely the most effective on the earth presently, and the questions will start about the place he stands on the all-time listing.
“With my fundamentals, I’m the pound-for-pound greatest fighter on the planet proper now,” Usman mentioned.
The bout happened at VyStar Veterans Memorial Enviornment, the primary UFC occasion because the COVID-19 pandemic with a capability crowd.
At UFC 251 final yr, Usman (19-1) beat Masvidal through unanimous resolution in pretty one-sided trend. However Masvidal got here into that combat on simply six days’ discover after Usman’s initially scheduled opponent, Gilbert Burns, examined constructive for coronavirus. Usman, 33, now has his fourth straight title protection and his 14th straight UFC victory.
Usman has the second-longest profitable streak in UFC historical past. Solely Anderson Silva has extra consecutive wins in UFC historical past (16).
“You elevated me,” Usman mentioned of Masvidal. “You made me get into the workshop. … I instructed everyone I am nonetheless getting higher. The sky is the restrict for me so long as I am doing this.”
Masvidal (35-15) is among the largest stars on the UFC roster. The Miami native was on a three-fight profitable streak earlier than falling to Usman final yr. In 2019, Masvidal knocked out Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz in a span of eight months to develop into one of many hottest MMA athletes on the earth. The latter was for the legendary BMF title at Madison Sq. Backyard. Masvidal, 36, has been a professional fighter for nearly 18 years, however has only recently develop into one of the crucial common MMA athletes on the earth.
“He is acquired my quantity, man,” Masvidal mentioned. “He beat me truthful and sq.. God bless him, man.”