Tag: UFC 261

Stephen Thompson leans toward Jorge Masvidal to beat Kamaru Usman at UFC 261

Or does Stephen Thompson *want* Jorge Masvidal to win for his own selfish reasons?

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[autotag]Stephen Thompson[/autotag] expects the welterweight title to change hands at UFC 261 – or, at least he hopes so.

Champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] rematches [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] in the main event on April 24, a matchup that “Wonderboy” will certainly have his eye on.

Usman (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) out-grappled Masvidal (35-14 MMA, 14-8 UFC) in their first fight last July, sweeping two of the three judges’ scorecards. But Thompson thinks the short-notice factor impacted Masvidal’s performance. “Gamebred” lived up to his name by stepping in on just six days’ notice to face Usman in Abu Dhabi, but the champion proved to be too much for him on the night.

However, now that Masvidal will have a full training camp to prepare, Thompson (16-4-1 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC) expects the rematch to pan out differently.

“If you go back and watch the last fight that these guys had, Jorge Masvidal was doing fairly well stuffing the takedowns, keeping the fight standing until he started to get tired late fourth and fifth round, he started to get taken down,” Thompson told Submission Radio. “So, I think with a full training camp, I do believe that Jorge Masvidal will put up a harder and better fight. …

“I’m leaning a little towards Jorge Masvidal for this one.”

Thompson has incentive for Masvidal winning. He holds a win over him when the pair fought in 2017, and Masvidal expressed interest in running things back down the line. So if Masvidal wins, Thompson thinks his chance of getting a title shot would increase.

“I think it’s just because I really want to see him win the fight,” Thompson said. “And, you know, I’m kind of biased a little bit, obviously. I kind of gave you my thoughts on that. But I do believe that it can go either way. Like, before, I had Usman winning. Like, he was definitely gonna win. What was it, a two-week training camp, or short notice for Jorge Masvidal? So, I knew Usman had it, because that guy is always in shape, man.

“But now that (Masvidal’s) got a training camp, and on top of that, he’s faced him before, so he knows what he’s gonna bring to the table. I don’t know, man, it’s hard to kind of put him out. Like, he does some crazy stuff. Like, everybody knew that Ben Askren was gonna beat him, right? And then you saw what he did in the first round. I mean, he pulls stuff out like that out of his hat on the (regular), and you don’t know what’s gonna happen, and it’s scary facing a guy like that.”

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While Usman has impressed by using his striking to take out the likes of Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns, Thompson still thinks Masvidal brings more of an element of unpredictability, which makes him more dangerous.

“I think it’s great for Jorge Masvidal, because he’s faced the guy, he knows what he’s gonna do if he goes out there with the same game plan. And you don’t really see, I mean, I think that’s what you expect from this guy. He’s gonna wanna get him to the ground,” Thompson said. “You don’t see a tremendous amount of improvements from Usman. I know his striking has improved, but you don’t see anything crazy. He doesn’t do anything that surprises you, like spin kicks, or doing anything wow like flying knees like Jorge Masvidal brings to the game. Like, you gotta worry about that. Like, what Jorge Masvidal’s gonna bring to this fight.”

Prior to the Usman vs. Masvidal 2 booking, “Wonderboy” was campaigning for a title shot. Thompson is coming off back-to-back wins over Vicente Luque and Geoff Neal, snapping the winning streaks of two surging contenders.

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But Thompson understands why the UFC opted to go with Masvidal, who has proven to be one of the promotion’s top stars, reportedly drawing an impressive 1.3 million pay-per-view buys in his first outing with Usman.

“I was definitely disappointed to hear that I wouldn’t be getting it,” Thompson said. “I mean, it was a long shot. You know, there’s a lot of guys that are ranked above me that are looking for that shot, and Colby Covington and a lot of these guys have already faced him. Of course, I was pushing. I was the only guy he hadn’t fought, so I thought that would be interesting.

“But then again, I think about it, Jorge Masvidal has been in the limelight for a long time, he’s one of the most popular guys in the UFC, and the fact that he mentioned that if he got the title, he would want to run it back with me. So, I’m not too disappointed. Hopefully he goes out there and gets the W, Jorge Masvidal. So that way I can face him, man. I know he showed interest in the past. His last fight when he fought Usman, he wanted to run it back with me. So, hopefully he still wants to. Keeping my fingers crossed.”

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Nevada Athletic Commission approves three UFC event licenses for April in Las Vegas

The UFC has obtained three event licenses from the state of Nevada for April 10, 17, and 24.

Four UFC event applications have been approved by the Nevada Athletic Commission for the month of April.

The NAC’s monthly meeting was held Tuesday via conference call with all five commissioners present. The governing body swiftly granted approval for events on April 10, April 17, and April 24 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The event license approvals don’t mean the UFC will certainly hold events at the UFC Apex, as exemplified by UFC 261 on April 24. On Monday, UFC president Dana White announced UFC 261 will happen at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., without capacity limits on the crowd.

Various fights have been revealed for the April stretch:

  • April 10, UFC on ABC 2, takes place at matinee time in the U.S. In the main event, middleweight contenders [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] and [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] are expected to square off.
  • April 17, a UFC Fight Night event, is in need of a new main event. With [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] ill, former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] needs a new opponent.
  • April 24, UFC 261, is expected to take place in Jacksonville, Fla., but the UFC still has an event license for the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view features three title fights, including UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag], UFC women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag], and UFC women’s strawweight champion [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag].

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Kamaru Usman opens as sizeable favorite over Jorge Masvidal in UFC 261 rematch

According to oddsmakers, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is an even bigger favorite this time to defeat Jorge Masvidal.

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According to oddsmakers, UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] is an even bigger favorite over [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] in their upcoming rematch.

Usman (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) will take on Masvidal (35-14 MMA, 14-8 UFC) in the UFC 261 headliner April 24 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. It’ll be the UFC’s first event without any limit on fan capacity in more than a year.

Usman, who swept two of the three judges’ scorecards in his unanimous decision win over Masvidal last July at UFC 251, has opened up as a roughly 3-1 betting favorite in the rematch. Per SportsBetting.ag. Usman is listed at -350, with Masvidal coming back as +285 underdog. In plain terms, a bettor would need to place $350 on Usman to yield a return of $100, while a $100 bet on Masvidal would pay out $285.

For their first fight, Usman defeated Masvidal as a -250 betting favorite.

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Since then, Usman has gone on to notch his third title defense with a third-round TKO over Gilbert Burns last month at UFC 258. On the other hand, “BMF” champion Masvidal, who had a breakout 2019 with three stoppage wins over Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz, has not competed since the loss to Usman.

UFC 251 reportedly drew an estimated 1.3 million pay-per-view buys, the most the promotion has drawn for a single event since UFC 229 in October 2018, which was headlined by the grudge match between lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.

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Twitter reacts to full-capacity UFC 261 with Usman-Masvidal rematch, three title fights in Florida

Check out the top Twitter reactions to the UFC 261 full-capacity event announcement in Florida with three championship bouts scheduled.

UFC president Dana White made a bombshell announcement Monday when he announced UFC 261 will take place in front of a full-capacity crowd with three championship bouts at the top of the bill.

The April 24 event, which will go down at VyStar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., will mark the third title fight triple-header in company history. Welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) rematches [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] (35-14 MMA, 12-7 UFC) in the main event, women’s flyweight champ [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) puts her belt on the line against [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] (21-8 MMA, 12-6 UFC) in the co-main event, and strawweight queen [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] (21-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) returns against [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] (9-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in the third title bout.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UFC 261 will mark the first time in more than 13 months that the promotion will attempt to fill an arena, and naturally, that news garnered the attention of the MMA and sports world.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to the UFC 261 announcement.

UFC 261 heads to Florida with Usman-Masvidal 2 leading three title fights in front of full crowd

The UFC is heading back to Florida with a trio of title fights – and what Dana White says will be a full crowd of 15,000 fans.

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The UFC is heading back to Florida with a trio of title fights – and what Dana White says will be a full-capacity crowd.

UFC 261 takes place April 24 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., the UFC president announced Monday. And he said the event will be open to a full capacity of “15,000 UFC fans” with tickets on sale soon.

In the main event, welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC)meets [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] (35-14 MMA, 14-8 UFC) in a rematch. In the co-feature, women’s flyweight champ [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (20-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) takes on challenger [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] (21-8 MMA, 12-6 UFC). And in the third title fight, women’s strawweight titleholder [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] (21-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) takes on former champ [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] (9-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC).

In its first fights back after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UFC put on several shows at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville – but without fans in attendance. The location was chosen because at the time, Florida was one of few states that had guidelines that would allow the UFC to put on shows.

The return to that venue is largely because the state of Florida has relaxed many of its COVID-19 restrictions – including to the point the White says a full capacity of fans will be allowed into the arena.

“I have been waiting a year for this day to tell you we are back,” White said in a Twitter video. “UFC 261 on April 24 will be in Jacksonville, Fla., with a full house of fans – full capacity at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. And you know I’m bringing an incredible card. … This is a stacked card in front of 15,000 UFC fans.”

Usman opened as a 3-to-1 favorite in the rematch, making him a slightly larger favorite than he closed at when the two fought at UFC 251 in July 2020. In that fight, Usman beat Masvidal with a unanimous decision. Masvidal took the fight on six days’ notice after fellow welterweight contender Gilbert Burns tested positive for COVID-19 and was removed from the card. Usman since has defended his title successfully with a third-round TKO win over Burns at UFC 258. Masvidal has not fought since the loss.

Shevchenko won the vacant UFC women’s flyweight title at UFC 231 in December 2018 when she beat Joanna Jedrzejczyk by unanimous decision. After becoming champion, Shevchenko has successfully defended her title against Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche, Katlyn Chookagian and, most recently, Jennifer Maia at UFC 255 with a unanimous decision. Andrade moved up to flyweight and made her divisional debut in October against Chookagian and picked up a first-round TKO. The result punched Andrade’s ticket back in the win column following back-to-back losses to Namajunas and Weili.

Weili hasn’t fought since her first title defense against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248 in March 2020. The bout won MMA Junkie’s “Fight of the Year,” but the Chinese titleholder, who is riding a 20-fight winning streak, has been out of action since then. Namajunas will have a chance to win back the UFC belt she lost at UFC 237 in May 2019. After ending Jedrzejczyk’s long reign atop the weight class, Namajunas dropped the title in a stunning slam knockout loss to Andrade. Namajunas beat Andrade by unanimous decision in a rematch at UFC 251.

The UFC 261 lineup includes:

  • Champ Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal – for welterweight title
  • Champ Zhang Weili vs. Rose Namajunas – for women’s strawweight title
  • Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Andrade – for women’s flyweight title
  • Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman
  • Jimmy Crute vs. Anthony Smith
  • Danaa Batgerel vs. Kevin Natividad
  • Brendan Allen vs. Karl Roberson
  • Qileng Aori vs. Jeffrey Molina
  • Johnny Munoz vs. Mark Striegl

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Fight Game on the ‘Gram: Jessica Andrade’s best posts before UFC 261

Check out some of Jessica Andrade’s most popular Instagram posts ahead of UFC 261.

Social media is part of life in the fight game for most fighters. Many of them turn to Instagram to keep their fans and followers informed and entertained since (for now) its reputation is less vitriolic than some of its contemporaries.

Ahead of her title fight against women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko (20-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC), check out some of the most popular Instagram posts from Jessica Andrade (21-8 MMA, 12-6 UFC).

Andrade and Shevchenko fight in the UFC 261 co-main event at UFC 261 on April 24 in Jacksonville, Fla.

Zhang Weili vs. Rose Namajunas title fight targeted for UFC 261 headliner

The UFC strawweight title will be on the line for the first time in nearly 14 months when Zhang Weili returns against Rose Namajunas.

The UFC strawweight title will be on the line for the first time in nearly 14 months when champion [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] returns against [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag].

The anticipated championship clash between Weili (21-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and Namajunas (9-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is targeted to take place at UFC 261, which is expected to take place on April 24. A location and venue have not been finalized.

MMA Junkie verified with multiple people close to the situation following an initial report from ESPN that, while contracts haven’t been finalized, verbal agreements are in place for the 115-pound title matchup. The people requested anonymity because UFC has yet to make an official announcement.

Weili, No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie strawweight rankings, hasn’t competed since logging her first title defense against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248 in March 2020. The bout was awarded MMA Junkie’s “Fight of the Year,” but the Chinese titleholder, who is riding a 20-fight winning streak, hasn’t seen action since.

No. 2-ranked Namajunas, meanwhile, will have the chance to reclaim the UFC belt she lost at UFC 237 in May 2019. After ending Jedrzejczyk’s long reign atop the weight class, Namajunas dropped the gold in a stunning slam knockout defeat to Jessica Andrade. The pair had a rematch at UFC 251 in July, with Namajunas beating Andrade by unanimous decision.

The latest UFC 261 lineup now includes:

  • Champ Zhang Weili vs. Rose Namajunas – for strawweight title
  • Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Andrade – for women’s flyweight title
  • Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman
  • Jimmy Crute vs. Anthony Smith
  • Danaa Batgerel vs. Kevin Natividad

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Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Andrade title fight booked for UFC 261

It’ll be champion vs. former champion at UFC 261.

UFC 261 has its first title fight.

Women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] will seek her fifth consecutive successful title defense when she takes on former strawweight champion [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] on the April 24 pay-per-view card. The event currently doesn’t have an official location or venue.

UFC president Dana White informed broadcast partner ESPN of the news Wednesday.

Shevchenko (20-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) won the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight title fight at UFC 231 in December 2018 when she defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk by unanimous decision. After becoming champion, Shevchenko has successfully defended her title against Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche, and Katlyn Chookagian.

Most recently, Shevchenko defended her title at UFC 255 when she won a unanimous decision against Jennifer Maia.

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Andrade (21-8 MMA, 12-6 UFC) moved up to women’s flyweight and made her divisional debut in October against Chookagian, finishing her with strikes in Round 1. The result punched Andrade’s ticket back in the win column following back-to-back losses to Rose Namajunas and Zhang Weili.

With the addition, the latest UFC 261 lineup includes:

  • Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Andrade – for UFC women’s flyweight title
  • Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman
  • Jimmy Crute vs. Anthony Smith
  • Danaa Batgerel vs. Kevin Natividad

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Anthony Smith replaces Johnny Walker, meets Jimmy Crute at UFC 261 in April

Anthony Smith is stepping up after Johnny Walker went down with a torn pectoral muscle.

[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] is back.

The former UFC title challenger has agreed to take on [autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag], replacing an injured Johnny Walker. Crute and Smith will face off April 24 at UFC 261, which does not yet have a confirmed location.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie following an initial report from ESPN on Tuesday.

Crute (12-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) was originally scheduled to fight March 27 at UFC 260, but Walker was forced to withdraw because of a torn pectoral muscle. Crute labeled Smith as a bigger and better fight for his career. The Australian is on a two-fight winning streak with his last performance a first-round knockout over Modestas Bukauskas back in October.

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Like Crute, Smith (34-16 MMA, 9-6 UFC) will clock in his first fight of 2021. The 32-year-old last fought in November when he snapped a two-fight losing streak with a submission win over Devin Clark in the main event of UFC on ESPN 18.

With the addition, the latest UFC 261 lineup includes:

  • Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman
  • Jimmy Crute vs. Anthony Smith

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Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman rematch shifts from UFC 258 to UFC 261 after positive COVID-19 result

The rematch between Uriah Hall and Chris Weidman will have to wait.

The rematch between [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag] and [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] will have to wait.

Hall (16-9 MMA, 9-7 UFC) and former UFC champ Weidman (15-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) were scheduled to run it back in the co-main event of UFC 258, which takes place Feb. 13 in Las Vegas, but is now expected to take place April 24 at UFC 261, although details are still being finalized.

The reason for the delay was a positive COVID-19 test from Weidman, MMA Junkie verified with multiple people close to the situation following an initial report from ESPN on Friday.

Weidman won the first meeting with Hall by TKO more than a decade ago at Ring of Combat 31 in September 2010, and both men have taken different trajectories since.

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2020 was a turbulent year for Hall, and that seemingly continues to begin 2021. After fights with Ronaldo Souza and Yoel Romero fell apart, he was presented with the opportunity to be Silva’s retirement fight opponent at UFC on ESPN+ 39 last month. He won by third-round TKO in an emotional contest for Hall.

Now looking to build off a three-fight winning streak, Hall attempts to get one back over Weidman, who stopped him in just his fifth career bout.

Weidman will attempt to repeat the feat and get some momentum going in his own career. After dropping five of six bouts, including an unsuccessful jump to light heavyweight, the former 185-pound titleholder Weidman got a career-saving victory over Omari Akhmedov at UFC on ESPN+ 33 in August.

He hasn’t had a winning streak since 2015, but now Weidman attempts to get the ball rolling against a familiar foe.

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