Tag: UFC 261

Conor McGregor says Kamaru Usman deserves a ‘smack’ after UFC 261: ‘I like 170. It’s mine soon’

Conor McGregor is apparently interested in a fight with Kamaru Usman in the near future.

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] is apparently interested in a fight with [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] in the near future.

McGregor, who is scheduled to fight Dustin Poirier in a trilogy bout at UFC 264 on July 10, reacted to Usman’s knockout of Jorge Masvidal in Saturday’s UFC 261 headliner with a social media post on Sunday morning.

Usman (19-1 MMA, 14-0 UFC) and McGregor (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) have had some words for each other in the past. “The Nigerian Nightmare” has warned the Irishman on multiple occasions that a fight between them would be very ugly for McGregor, but that hasn’t got him to back down.

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McGregor poked fun at Usman prior to UFC 261 when Usman said in an interview that fighting him is like “Green Panty Night,” which is obviously a twist on McGregor’s famous “Red Panty Night” quote.

He still seems to think the 170-pound king is a copycat, and he wants to settle the score in the octagon (via Instagram):

https://www.instagram.com/p/COFouQtpDsW

Usman even copying my shots now. Am I to fight this guy at some stage? I think so. Can’t be copying my words and my shots and not get a smack for it.
I like 170. It’s mine soon.

I’m a block at 170 guys. Give me till end of year at this 155 weight. I’ll get the strap and then I’ll go up again. After green fungus panties hahaha “cos any one of these fools can get it” – usman

McGregor’s upcoming rubber match with Poirier is to be contested at lightweight. “The Notorious” has fought three times under the welterweight banner in the UFC before, though, splitting results with Nate Diaz and getting a win over Donald Cerrone.

In the aftermath of Usman’s title defense at UFC 261, it appears he has renewed interest in the matchup.

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UFC 261 bonuses: Kamaru Usman, Rose Namajunas among $50,000 no-brainers

The UFC handed out four $50,000 post-fight bonuses after its return to full arenas Saturday.

The UFC handed out four $50,000 post-fight bonuses after its return to full arenas Saturday.

UFC 261 took place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+. It was the promotion’s first event in front of fans since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The card featured three title fights at the top of the bill, and all five fights on the main card ended in finishes – including a nasty broken leg suffered by former middleweight champion Chris Weidman.

Check out the post-fight bonus winners below.

Colby Covington reacts to Kamaru Usman’s UFC 261 win: ‘You shouldn’t be happy or praising yourself’

Colby Covington wasn’t impressed by Kamaru Usman’s knockout of Jorge Masvidal in the UFC 261 main event.

As he sat and watched the way the UFC 261 main event played out in the on-deck circle, [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] wasn’t impressed with what he saw.

The next man in line for the UFC welterweight title shot, Covington (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) had a front-row seat to see [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] knock out Jorge Masvidal in Round 2 to retain his championship.

“It took eight minutes longer than I would finish Jorge Masvidal in every time we trained,” Covington said on the ESPN post-fight show. “That guy is a journeyman. What’s he got: 15, 20 losses on his record? You shouldn’t be happy or praising yourself for beating a journeyman like that. There’s a reason he’s a backstabber. He’s a street Judas. He’s a bum. If I lost the next 12 fights in a row, I’d still have a better record than journeyman Masvidal.”

While his level of impressed was low, so was his level of surprise. Covington thought the outcome was predictable. With Masvidal concerned about a takedown, Covington thinks it’s no wonder Usman found a knockout blow.

“I definitely knew it was a possibility because he puts the threat of a takedown,” Covington said. “That’s what Masvidal was worried about. He was worried about the takedown. He didn’t want to get taken down and gassed out. So he’s worried about getting taken down and, boom, he hits him with the right. He has his hands down, trying to defend the takedown. I knew it was a possibility.”

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Whenever Covington gets to step into the cage with Usman, it won’t be the first time. The two welterweights squared off at UFC 245 in December 2019 when Usman finished Covington with strikes in Round 5. The bout was widely regarded as one of the year’s best.

If they fight again, Covington expects viewers to see things play out differently. Improvements have been made, according to Covington, who dragged Usman into deep waters in their first meeting.

“It’s a different style matchup when I fight ‘Marty,'” Covington said. “He knows he can’t take me down. I’m going to take him down into deep waters. I’m going to take him down and I’m going to finish him. There are no more fake nut shots next time. … I have new coaches now. I have a new team behind me. Before, there was so much drama at my old gym. People were screaming at me. I couldn’t get my training time in. Now, I have Daniel Valverde (and) Cesar Carneiro over at MMA Masters.

“We’re getting better every single day. My striking is on a whole other level. What has to go different is I have to put a higher pace on him next time. I didn’t put enough pace on him last time and just keep my hands up. I know I’m going to get my hand raised when I fight him.”

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Twitter reacts to Kamaru Usman’s KO of Jorge Masvidal to defend title at UFC 261

See the top Twitter reactions to Kamaru Usman’s title defense against Jorge Masvidal in the UFC 261 main event.

[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] added a fourth defense to his title reign on Saturday when he against defended the belt against [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] at UFC 261.

Usman (19-1 MMA, 14-0 UFC) once again retained the welterweight title when he beat rival Masvidal (35-14 MMA, 12-7 UFC) by second-round knockout in the headlining bout, which took place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., and aired on pay-per-view.

“The Nigerian Nightmare” is now 2-0 in his career against Masvidal, and is living up to his promise to “lap” the competition at 170 pounds.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Usman’s victory over Masvidal at UFC 261.

UFC 261 results: Kamaru Usman blasts Jorge Masvidal unconscious with vicious right-hand KO

Kamaru Usman became the first man to knock out Jorge Masvidal in 50 professional fights.

[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] defended his welterweight title with a brutal knockout at UFC 261 on Saturday.

In a rematch against one of his biggest rivals, Usman (19-1 MMA, 14-0 UFC) knocked out [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] with a violent overhand right to retain his championship at the 1:02 mark of Round 2.

The welterweight title bout was the UFC 261 main event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

Masvidal (35-14 MMA, 12-7 UFC) came out firing with leg kicks in Round 1, to which Usman returned with overhand rights. While the fight remained on the feet in the opening minutes, a Masvidal knee attempt opened up the door for Usman to take the fight to the ground with a slam.

With the crowd thoroughly behind him, Masvidal rose to his feet to the delight of the crowd. Once back in the center, Masvidal landed his best shots of the fight – a punch and a knee.

In Round 2, both fighters opened up. Masvidal oozed confidence, but it was Usman who had the last laugh. A massive overhand right from Usman put Masvidal down. From there, only a few follow-up hammerfists were needed for referee Herb Dean to step in.

With the victory, Usman extended his winning streak to 18 straight – a stretch that extends before his UFC debut. His 14 straight wins to open his UFC career are second only to Anderson Silva. Since he dethroned Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 in March 2019, Usman has successfully defended his 170-pound title four times.

For Masvidal, the loss signifies back-to-back defeats, both against Usman. The losses were his first since 2017 and came on the heels of a three-fight winning streak. The knockout defeat was the first time Masvidal had been finished since May 2009.

Usman and Masvidal first squared off at UFC 251 in July 2020 after Gilbert Burns tested positive for COVID-19 and was removed from the card. Masvidal stepped in on six days’ notice for his first UFC title shot, which he lost to Usman via unanimous decision.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 261 results include:

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Twitter reacts to Rose Namajunas’ title-winning KO of Zhang Weili at UFC 261

UFC 261: Twitter reacts to Zhang Weili’s title defense over Namajunas

See the top Twitter reactions to Rose Namajunas’ title win over Zhang Weili in the UFC 261 co-main event.

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] became a two time UFC champion on Saturday when she dethroned [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] in the UFC 261 co-headliner.

After losing the belt in May 2019, Namajunas (10-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) got her hands on the strawweight strap when she beat Weili (21-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) by first-round knockout in the co-main event, which took place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., and aired on pay-per-view.

Namajunas is now the first fighter to have multiple title reigns at 115 pounds, while Weili sees her 21-fight winning streak come to an end.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Namajunas’ title victory over Weili at UFC 261.

UFC 261 results: Rose Namajunas KOs Zhang Weili with head kick to reclaim title

Rose Namajunas re-claims the UFC strawweight title at UFC 261.

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] once again has UFC gold in her hands.

The now two-time UFC strawweight champion dethroned [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] to reclaim the 115-pound belt. Namajunas (10-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) knocked out Weili (21-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) with a head kick in the first round of their championship fight. The official stoppage came at the 1:18 mark.

The women’s strawweight title bout was the UFC 261 co-main event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

It was a quick and easy night for Namajunas.

Namajunas hovered on the outside of the octagon while Weili took the center of the cage and threw kicks. In one of the exchanges, Namajunas went upstairs with a left high kick and dropped the champion to the canvas.

From there, Namajunas jumped on Weili, landed ground-and-pound and forced the referee to stop the fight. Weili stood up and protested the call, but she was stumbling on the canvas still hurt from the head kick.

Namajunas is now 5-1 in her past six performances. She previously held the UFC strawweight title from 2017 to 2019 and lost the belt to Jessica Andrade at UFC 237. But she came back to avenge her loss to Andrade, who had lost the belt to Zhang, and got a title shot.

Weili suffered her first UFC loss. She defended the belt once in a 2020 “Fight of the Year” back UFC 248 in early 2020.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 261 results include:

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UFC 261 results: Valentina Shevchenko smashes Jessica Andrade with crucifix elbows, gets TKO

At UFC 261, Valentina Shevchenko defended her title for the fifth time when she TKO’d Jessica Andrade with elbows in Round 2.

[autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] continues to be unbeatable at 125 pounds.

At UFC 261, Shevchenko (21-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) successfully defended her UFC women’s flyweight title for the fifth straight time when she defeated [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] by TKO at the 3:19 mark of Round 2.

The women’s flyweight title bout was part of the UFC 261 main card at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

In the opening round, Shevchenko’s game plan became clear: Take the fight to the ground. In Round 1 alone, Shevchenko was able to score five takedowns on Andrade (21-9 MMA, 12-7 UFC). Her fourth takedown nearly led to a rear-naked choke submission, but Andrade found a way out.

The second round played out similarly, but with a different ending. While Andrade was able to control Shevchenko in the clinch, her success was short-lived. Shevchenko eventually turned the tide and dumped Andrade to the mat. From there, she moved straight to the crucifix position. Elbow after elbow rained down and blood was drawn. Referee Dan Miragliotta saw enough and stopped Andrade from absorbing any further punishment.

The successful title defense Saturday was Shevchenko’s fifth since her reign as flyweight champion began in December 2018. After she won the vacant title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231, Shevchenko defeated challengers Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche, Katlyn Chookagian,and Jennifer Maia.

In her UFC tenure, Shevchenko has only lost twice. Both defeats came against the same fighter: current UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes.

Andrade came up short in her third title challenge. A former UFC women’s strawweight champion, Andrade is 1-2 in title-clinching bouts. Saturday’s fight was only her second as part of the UFC women’s flyweight division. She falls to 1-3 in her most recent four fights.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 261 results include:

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Twitter reacts to Valentina Shevchenko’s TKO title defense over Jessica Andrade at UFC 261

See the top Twitter reactions to Valentina Shevchenko’s title defense over Jessica Andrade at UFC 261.

[autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag]’s iron fist over the women’s flyweight division continued on Saturday when she retained over [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] at UFC 261.

Shevchenko (21-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) remained unbeaten at 125 pounds when she earned a second-round TKO victory over Andrade (21-9 MMA, 12-7 UFC) in a featured bout, which took place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., and aired on pay-per-view.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Shevchenko’s title defense against Andrade at UFC 261.