Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out the complete list of fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s UFC 251 event.
While it takes intense training, world-class skills and maybe even a bit of luck to register a UFC win, picking the right song to accompany you to the cage is a key talent, as well.
Inside, see what the fighters from UFC 251 went with as their backing tracks in Abu Dhabi.
See highlights from the Usman vs. Masvidal match at UFC 251 at Fight Island.
UFC 251 went down at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi last night (yep, Dana White made Fight Island a reality) with a bit of an interesting main event — the fight was originally slated to take place between champ Kumaru Usman and Gilbert Burns.
Then Burns, as well as his coach, tested positive for coronavirus. So, with six days’ notice, Jorge Masvidal got a Covid-19 test, got cleared, then stepped into the main event.
Masvidal is a talented striker with some of our favorite knockouts of the past few years, but with only a week to prepare, he couldn’t take out the gifted Usman, who outlasted him for a decision win.
See the highlights from the fight here:
See more of our coverage of the night:
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Alexander Volkanovski believes the judges scored his win over Max Holloway correctly at UFC 251.
[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] believes he was the rightful winner against [autotag]Max Holloway [/autotag]on Saturday in the UFC 251 co-main event.
Volkanovski (22-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC) retained his featherweight title by the skin of his teeth in the pay-per-view co-headliner at Flash Forum in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. He edged Holloway (21-6 MMA, 17-6 UFC) by split decision, making it 2-0 over “Blessed” after winning another competitive decision at UFC 245 in December to take the belt.
There was no shortage of backlash over the result, and even UFC president Dana White said it was “bad judging.” Volkanovski doesn’t see much controversy, though, and said he won the third, fourth and fifth rounds. With that, he feels the door should be closed on his rivalry with Holloway.
“It was a tough one,” Volkanovski told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC 251. “We expected him to make adjustments, he made good adjustments in the first two rounds. Then he did what we actually expected him too with the attacks. But his first two rounds were strong then we had to pick it up. Through the third round we picked it up. That third round was close, but we were confident we got that third round then obviously we took the fourth and fifth. Tight fight, but when the judges announced the score we thought we got the last three. Happy with the win. To win a rematch like that back to back, it says something. I’m happy to finish the chapter. On to the next.”
Dana White was not fond of the "bad judging" in Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway.#UFC251 | Full interview: https://t.co/55FZcD92xD pic.twitter.com/OfiUVPlQg3
— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) July 12, 2020
Although there might be some who believe the decision in Volkanovski’s favor was unjust, he thinks he revealed some positive traits about himself in the fight. He lost the first two rounds and got hurt with some punches in the process, but said the fact he was able to keep himself in the fight and emerge with the win says a lot about his character.
“I showed what champions are made of,” Volkanovski said. “This sport isn’t easy and I showed what I’m made of. Certain champions can dig deep like I did. I’m proud I did and got the job done and can bring this (belt) him to Australia to my friends and family.”
Volkanovski said he’s surveying the entire 145-pound division for his next challenge after defending the strap for the first time. He doesn’t see a clear No. 1 contender, but thinks some potential fights in the coming months such as Calvin Kattar vs. Dan Ige, Brian Ortega vs. Chan Sung and Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Yair Rodriguez could help determine this next opponent.
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The possibility of a third showdown with Holloway wasn’t completely shut down by Volkanovski. However, he said he thinks the Hawaiian needs to put in some work before that’s something that’s given serious consideration.
“You never know,” Volkanovski said. “Obviously, he’s got to go through the rankings system now and I don’t think the first fight was close. This was probably closer than the first fight but again, I got he job done. Doesn’t matter. I feel like I showed I’m the best fighter in the world even today. I believe I finished that chapter. I don’t know where he goes from here, I don’t know if he wants to move up or whatever. But I did what I needed to do.”
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Kamaru Usman responds to online critics who said his UFC 251 fight was boring.
ABU DHABI – Trash talk was plentiful entering the UFC 251 main event between UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] and challenger [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag].
When the dust settled, the beef did, too. Upon the sound of the final horn, Usman (17-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) and Masvidal (35-13 MMA, 12-6 UFC) shook hands and exchanged well-wishes.
At a post-fight news conference, Usman praised Masvidal and further voiced his respect for the “BMF” champion.
“It’s just mutual respect,” Usman said. “It’s hard not to respect a man when you spend 25 minutes in that Octagon punching each other in the face. Yeah, it’s just mutual respect. We both feel that we’ll do it again. Absolutely. I would like more time to prepare for a guy like that and really be able to dominate in the way that I want to – picking my spots and try to get that finish standing.”
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Usman’s performance was dominant and he received two 50-45 scorecards from the judges (the other was a 49-46), but his method of victory was heavily criticized online. Usman largely utilized his grappling and fence work for the majority of the fight.
At the news conference, Usman disagreed with the notion that it was fair criticism, saying his critics should try to do what he just did – hang in the cage with Masvidal for the entirety of a title fight. Usman sees comparisons between himself and all-time boxing great Floyd Mayweather in that regard.
“Maybe they need to get in there and fight Jorge Masvidal for 25 minutes, then say something,” Usman said. “… Well, that’s the thing. There was a time where people starting hating Floyd Mayweather because he was so dominant. Floyd, his defense was so good. He was just so good at what he did. We can agree on that. He was so good at what he did. Everyone is like, ‘Oh that’s boring. He’s not fighting,’ because they didn’t see a bar fight.
“We’re risking our lives in there. We’ve trained. What’s the point of training each and every day and then go in there and just slugging around, taking punches?”
The welterweight title bout was the UFC 251 main event at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+ and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.
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Alexander Volkanovski spoke to the media following his win at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi.
Alexander Volkanovski spoke to the media following his win at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi.
Dana White not happy with how long the ending of Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo dragged out.
ABU DHABI — Dana White is deeply unhappy with some of the refereeing seen at UFC 251 on Saturday night.
The UFC president criticized the stoppage in the bantamweight title fight between [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] and [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag]. Yan stopped the Brazilian legend in the fifth round of their bout for the vacant 135-pound title.
The ending of the contest came after Aldo took many unanswered shots in turtle position while Yan pounded away on top. Aldo was covering up, but was doing very little to improve his position while he a received nonstop stream of punches and elbows and Aldo’s blood stained the mat a deep red.
The official stoppage of the fight came at the 3:24 mark of round five, but White thinks the stoppage should have came much sooner.
“Horrible, horrible stoppage by the referee,” White told reporters at the post-fight press conference. “It should’ve been stopped way sooner, you know. It looks like we have to tighten up our refs and judges here in ‘Fight Island.'”
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Despite the ugly finish, the former UFC and WEC featherweight champion had his moments in the bout and looked competitive for the majority of the contest.
Yet, despite having a lengthy career, and going 0-3 in his last three trips to the octagon, White is not calling for Aldo’s retirement like he has for other aging champions in the company.
“I thought Aldo looked great for people that were criticizing him saying he doesn’t deserve another title shot,” White said.
“He fought the next guy lined up for a title shot and he looked damn good doing it, he can do whatever he wants.”
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Kamaru Usman spoke to the media following his win at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi.
Kamaru Usman spoke to the media following his win at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi.
Petr Yan spoke to the media following his win at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi.
Petr Yan spoke to the media following his win at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi.
Jorge Masvidal won’t “shut up or roll over” after his title-fight loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC 251 and intends to earn a rematch.
[autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] said he’s crushed to let his supporters down after losing to [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] in the UFC 251 main event, but he intends to bounce back and earn a rematch.
Masvidal (35-14 MMA, 12-7 UFC) refused to make excuses for his unanimous decision defeat to Usman (17-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) in Saturday’s welterweight title headliner at Flash Forum in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. He took the fight on six days’ notice and had to endure a sizable weight cut and a large amount of travel to get into the octagon, and although he said some of those elements may have played a factor, he doesn’t point to them as the reason he lost.
“I hate coming up short,” Masvidal told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC 251 post-fight news conference. “I ain’t going to make no excuses. He was the better man tonight. There was some areas where I didn’t give him enough credit and there was some areas I felt with a better training camp I could definitely surpass him. I think I showed a lot of my wrestling on six days’ notice that I’m not too easy to take down or hold down on the ground.
“I made a lot of mistakes. I tried to fight in spots where I didn’t think my gas tank was the greatest. Right when I would get loose he would clinch me up and take it right back into his world. So, I’m not going to take anything away from him. I won fair and square. I will do whatever it takes to get back in front of that man and compete again and get my hand raised.”
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Masvidal made it clear he’s determined to rematch Usman after UFC 251. He expressed as much to the champion inside the octagon immediately after the decision was announced, and Masvidal is already focused on putting the loss behind him.
There are several potential next-fight options for “Gamebred,” such as grudge matches with Colby Covington and Leon Edwards, or perhaps a “BMF” title rematch with Nate Diaz. Masvidal said all possibilities on the table, but he’s not going to jump to rush into anything until he fully digests the UFC 251 outcome.
“Definitely going to sit back and evaluate the next one,” Masvidal said. “I don’t know if I’ll be coming back at the end of the year or early next year. I’m going to sit down with my management and figure it out. But whoever it is next year I just want to come back and get a stoppage and be in peak shape, have a six-pack when I’m out there and just be right.”
Whatever comes for Masvidal next, it’s ultimately just a step back to the rematch with Usman, he said. If Masvidal had beaten Usman, he would’ve had more MMA fights than any first-time champion in UFC history. He took the long road to get his first title shot, and he said he’s happy to continue to take the hard road to finally get what he wants.
“We’ll do it again,” Masvidal said. “I just can’t wait. They’ll put an opponent in front of me and I’ll take care of business and I’m going to come back better than ever. I’m not going to go – I’m not going to disappear from the sport without this belt being wrapped around my waist. One way or another. It’s not my best performance tonight but everyone gets to see the dog in me and that dog doesn’t shut up or roll over for nobody.”
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Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade were rewarded for a spirited effort with “Fight of the Night” honors at UFC 251.
UFC 251 was an eventful evening, and it ended, per usual, with four fighters taking home bonus money.
[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] (9-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) and [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] (20-8 MMA, 11-6 UFC) met up on the evening’s main card in a rematch which was 14 months in the making, and it turned out to be well worth the wait.
The former strawweight champions put on a tremendous show, with Namajunas looking sharp over the first 10 minutes, then fending off Andrade’s ferocious comeback over the final round to earn a split decision win.
That was enough for the match to earn “Fight of the Night” honors, giving both competitors an extra $50,000. This marked Andrade’s seventh postfight bonus of her UFC tenure and Namajunas’ fifth.
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“Performance of the Night,” meanwhile, went to a pair of truly superlative performance. Jiri Prochazka (27-3-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) lived up to the hype in his UFC debut, as the former Rizin light heavyweight champion knocked former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Volkan Oezdemir cold early in the second round of their featured prelim bout. And the evening got off with a bang when Davey Grant (10-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) knocked Martin Day cold in the third round of their fight. Both take home their first UFC postfight bonuses for their “POTN” efforts.
UFC 251 took place Saturday at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
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