The 2021 Fight of the Year is of course Kamaru Usman who was almost unanimously voted to receive this honor by the LowKickMMA team.
Usman has defended his UFC welterweight title on three occasions this year with each fight being more impressive than the last. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ started off his year with a defence against his former teammate and friend Gilbert Burns. ‘Durinho’ appeared to have the power and grappling to cause Usman problems and did for one round before the 170lb king took over. Usman closed the show inside three rounds to kick off his bumper 2021.
PUT SOME RESPECT ON HIS NAME
#UFC258 pic.twitter.com/FurU7SY99x
— UFC (@ufc) February 14, 2021
Next up, was a not-so-eagerly anticipated rematch with Jorge Masvidal. ‘Gamebred’ previously took a fight with Usman on seven days’ notice and was dominated over five rounds. With no clear-cut contender at welterweight, Usman decided to do the honorable thing and allow Masvidal to prepare for a rematch with a full camp to ensure he had no excuses the second time around. At UFC 261, Usman left no doubt about who the better fighter is when he knocked ‘Street Jesus’ out cold, displaying his rapidly improving boxing skills.
This angle of Usman's KO of Masvidal
[h/t IG/chasskelly] pic.twitter.com/NfV3MBCF91
— Vover (@voveraudio) April 25, 2021
Usman capped off his perfect year by ending another rivalry, this time with Colby Covington. The duo first fought at UFC 245 in 2019 in what was one of the best title fights of all time. Usman emerged from that fight with a fifth-round TKO win but ‘Chaos’ has refused to accept the loss and blamed referee Marc Goddard for the defeat. Finally, Covington got his rematch at UFC 268 in November and once again pushed Usman close but ultimately fell to a unanimous decision defeat after five rounds of war.
What’s Next For Kamaru Usman?
As the year comes to a close Usman is ranked at number one on the UFC’s pound-for-pound list, deservedly so. The 34-year-old, who is dangerously close to cleaning out the division, is expected to face Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev in 2022. Although, the man himself has made it clear that he wants to cross over into boxing for a fight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
Full List of Votes
Jordan: Kamaru Usman
Lewis: Kamaru Usman
Michael G: Kamaru Usman
Curtis: Kamaru Usman
Ross: Kamaru Usman
Ian: Kamaru Usman
Michael C: Ok Rae-Yoon
Keelin: Kamaru Usman
Ryan: Kamaru Usman
Abhinav: Kamaru Usman
Patrick: Kamaru Usman
Do you think we made the right call by naming Kamaru Usman as our Fighter of the Year for 2021?