Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal will face off in the main event for the welterweight title at UFC 261 at Jacksonville Arena. There will be fans in attendance for this event.
These two faced off in July of 2020 and it was Usman that was able to come away with the unanimous decision. Masvidal took that fight on short notice but he has had a full camp getting ready for this one.
Usman comes into this game with an 18-1 and since coming into the UFC he has a perfect record. Usman’s last fight came against Gilbert Burns in February of 2021 and early in the first round he finished that fight by knockout. Each of Usman’s last four fights have been for a belt. Usman is averaging 4.66 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 2.33 significant strikes per minute Usman is averaging 3.22 takedowns every 15 minutes and he is successful on 47 percent of his takedown attempts. Usman has also stopped 100 percent of his opponents' takedown attempts. Usman also is averaging 0.1 submission attempts every 15 minutes.
On the other side of this matchup is Jorge Masvidal who comes into this game with a 35-14 record overall and his last fight was that loss against Usman. Before that fight, Masvidal had won three fights in a row and all three of those wins were by knockout. Masvidal is averaging 4.20 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 3.00 significant strikes per minute. Masvidal is averaging 1.57 takedowns every 15 minutes and he is successful on 59 percent of those attempts. He also stops 77 percent of his opponents takedown attempts.
Even with a full fight camp, I don’t believe the results of this one are going to be that much different. Look for Usman to dominate this fight and he will have no issue coming away with the victory. Back Usman to win the fight by decision.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
