Kamaru Usman, the ‘Nigerian nightmare’ retains UFC title

Kamaru Usman clinched the UFC title, Ultimate Fighting Championship, over Jorge Masvidal to clinch the after an impressive fight.

In one of the most eventful rosters in modern history, UFC 261 turned out to be a terrific night for entertainment with other huge performances from Valetina Shevchenko and Rose Namajunas. 

Usman made his fifth defence of the 170-pound title by knocking Jorge Masvidal out cold in the second round of the UFC 261 main event held at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. In the spirit of sportsmanship, Masvidal partly attributed the loss to his overconfidence and described Usman’s win as “fair and square” even going further to say “God bless him.” 

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During the fight, Usman countered Masvidals outside leg kicks using clean right hand throws and occasional stiff jabs. Masvidal would smile and further taunt his opponent anytime he was hit clean. Despite the composure, the blows seemed to stun him while opening up further opportunities to take him down. Usman described his win as a testament to his “growing so much in the sport.”

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Father-son moment 

This was the first time Kamaru Usman’s dad watched his son fight in live-action. Having been in since 2009, he couldn't control his emotions after his son handed him the belt. At 33, his son has an impressive record of 14 consecutive wins in the franchise.UFC president Dana White mentioned that Kamaru Usman is on the path to being one of the ‘greatest of all time.’ He shared with MMA Junkie that Usman is “one of the best ever.”

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Highlights of UFC 261

In the women’s debut, Weili Zhang lost her crown to Rose Namajunas then took to social media to ask for a rematch. In another match, the tussle had to be discontinued after Chris Weidman suffered a serious injury, only 17 seconds from kick-off, when he snapped a leg after kicking his opponent Uriah Hall. The contests were immediately discontinued as doctors and physicists rushed to the ring and had him stretchered out. The athlete’s wife later confirmed that her husband was receiving treatment and is recovering quite well. She thanked the medical staff, friends, family, and the entire UFC community for their support. 

A similar incident like this happened before when Anderson Silva fought  Chris Weidman eight years ago. In a sign of solidarity, Silva took to IG and wished Chris a speedy recovery. 

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YouTuber Jake Paul also captured the headlines during UFC 261 after entering into a heated argument with MMA legend Daniel Cormier by the ringside. Conor McGregor also grabbed headlines after watching the show from home and expressing a desire to fight Usman, the UFC welterweight champion. 

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Connor McGregor expressed a desire to fight the Nigerian nightmare. The 32-year-old Irishman is expected to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. He took to Twitter to chide Usman over “coping my words and my shots.” McGregor, a former lightweight and heavyweight champion, has a 2-1 welterweight record, including the famous loss to Nate Diaz in 2016. He later went on to avenge that defeat after five months but only won through a majority decision. Since that rematch, he has only managed two wins.