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Valentina Shevchenko Slices Through Jessica Andrade For Second Round Win – UFC 261 Highlights

And Still. Valentina ‘Bullet’ Shevchenko remains the undisputed UFC flyweight champion, knocking back arguably, on paper at least, the sternest challenge to her throne in the form of former strawweight best, Jessica Andrade. Utilising her wrestling and grappling accumen throughout the two round affair, Shevchenko repeatedly took Andrade to the canvas from the opening round […]

Utilising her wrestling and grappling accumen throughout the two round affair, Shevchenko repeatedly took Andrade to the canvas from the opening round through to the second, moving to side control with ease on occasion.

Eventually forcing the issue, the Kyrgyzstan native, took side control once more before eventually assuming mounted crucifix. In a very similar display to her UFC 247 win over Katlyn Chookagian last year, Shevchenko began unloading with strikes from the top, slicing Andrade with elbows, forcing referee, Dan Miragliotta to stop the championship contest.

Below, catch the highlights from Shevchenko’s one-sided win over Andrade.

BEEN OUR QUEEN.

IS OUR QUEEN.

By the looks of it, ALWAYS WILL BE. #UFC261 pic.twitter.com/O81IhaxSY5

— UFC (@ufc) April 25, 2021

Chris Weidman Suffers Leg Break Against Uriah Hall At UFC 261

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED BEFORE VIEWING THE BELOW VIDEO Just seventeen seconds deep into the opening round his main card rematch against Uriah Hall at UFC 261, former middleweight champion, Chris ‘The All American’ Weidman suffered a catastrophic leg break, as he attempted to land a leg kick on the Spanish Town native. Taking the […]

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED BEFORE VIEWING THE BELOW VIDEO

Just seventeen seconds deep into the opening round his main card rematch against Uriah Hall at UFC 261, former middleweight champion, Chris ‘The All American’ Weidman suffered a catastrophic leg break, as he attempted to land a leg kick on the Spanish Town native.

Taking the centre of the Octagon, Weidman attmepted to find a home for a leg kick off his right leg, catching Hall right below the knee, unfortunately snapping his leg. Stepping back on his right foot, Weidman immediately collapsed to the canvas, with referee, Herb Dean waving off the fight.

Everyone at LowKickMMA wish Chris Weidman a speedy recovery, with thoughts and prayers firmly with him.

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED BEFORE VIEWING THE BELOW VIDEO

UFC 261 Results: Usman vs. Masvidal II

LowKick MMA will be bringing you UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal results throughout the afternoon (Sat. 24th. April 2021) from the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. Taking main event honours as part of a championship tripleheader, welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman meets with BMF titleholder, Jorge Masvidal in a rematch of their UFC 251 main event last […]

LowKick MMA will be bringing you UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal results throughout the afternoon (Sat. 24th. April 2021) from the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.

Taking main event honours as part of a championship tripleheader, welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman meets with BMF titleholder, Jorge Masvidal in a rematch of their UFC 251 main event last July on ‘Fight Island’.

Initially meeting last summer on just six day’s notice, Masvidal saw his three-fight winning spree halted by Usman via a largely one-sided unanimous decision loss.

In the time since, Masvidal has yet to compete, while Usman notched his third successful title defence in the form of a third round knockout win over Gilbert Burns in the main event of UFC 258 in February.

In the co-main event slot, strawweight champion, Zhang Weili attempts to score her second successful defence of the 115-pound title, as she matches with former gold holder, Rose Namajunas.

Weili returns for the first time since UFC 248 last March, where she defeated another former titleholder, Joanna Jedrzejczyk via a close split decision, in the consensus Fight of the Year.

For Namajunas, the Denver-based contender returns as the number-one contender off the back of a close split decision win of her own over another former champion, Jessica Andrade at UFC 251 in July, in a rematch win.

In the first of our title tripleheader, Valentina Shevchenko puts her flyweight championship on the line as she meets with the aforenoted former strawweight best, Andrade.

Shevchenko attempts to secure her fifth successful defence of the 125-pound title, having taken home a unanimous decision win over Jennifer Maia in the co-main event of UFC 255 in November.

For Parana native, Andrade, the former strawweight champion would become a two-weight champion with a win over Shevchenko, after earning her shot at gold via a first round knockout win over one-time title challenger, Katlyn Chookagian at UFC Fight Island 6 in October in her divisional bow.

UFC 261 Results: Usman vs. Masvidal II

Main Card: (ESPN+ 10 p.m. ET)

Welterweight: Kamaru Usman (c) vs. Jorge Masvidal II

Strawweight: Zhang Weili (c) vs. Rose Namajunas

Flyweight: Valentina Shevchenko (c) vs. Jessica Andrade

Middleweight: Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman II

Light Heavyweight: Anthony Smith vs. Jimmy Crute

Preliminary Card: (ESPN/ESPN+ 8 p.m. ET)

Welterweight: Alex Oliveira vs. Randy Brown

Welterweight: Dwight Grant vs. Stefan Sekulic

Middleweight: Karl Roberson vs. Brendan Allen

Featherweight: Patrick Sabatini vs. Tristian Connelly

Early Preliminary Card: (ESPN2/ESPN+ 6 p.m. ET)

Bantamweight: Danaa Batgerel vs. Kevin Natividad

Lightweight: Kazula Vargas vs. Rong Zhu

Flyweight: Qileng Aori vs. Jeffrey Molina

Strawweight: Na Liang vs. Ariane Carnelossi

Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal II – Staff Predictions

In the UFC 261 main event, we have a rematch between the welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, and Jorge Masvidal. The pair previously met on just six days’ notice at UFC 251. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ retained his belt with a dominant decision win. ‘Gamebred’ will be hoping he can be more effective with a full fight […]

Jordan Ellis: It’s hard to back against Kamaru Usman in this fight. He is already one of the best welterweight fighters of all time and dominated Masvidal just last year. For me, this rematch is not “super necessary”. I expect Usman will put on an even more dominant display than we saw at UFC 251. The question is will be able to stop the always tough ‘Gamebred’?

Prediction: Kamaru Usman

Alex Lough: Six days, six weeks, six months. No matter how long of a training camp Masvidal gets, I see this fight going the same way. I guess there’s a thought that because Usman’s striking looked improved in his last fight against Burns that there’s a chance he could test it out against Masvidal and get caught. Let me tell you right now: the odds of Usman going that route are nil. He knows exactly what path he has to go down to get his hand raised at the end of the night, and he’s far too intelligent of a fighter to diverge even slightly from it. It’s not like their first fight was the first time Masvidal has struggled against a grappler. Demian Maia, Benson Henderson and Rustam Khalibov were all able to find success against him. Look for Usman to grind against the fence and work for takedowns. The more frustrated Masvidal gets, the easy the takedowns will come. And still.

Prediction: Kamaru Usman

Frank Bonada: To be honest I see this one playing out in similar fashion to the first fight. If Usman uses his wrestling he can completely shut out Masvidals game. The only concern is if Usman gets drawn into the striking exchanges. Masvidal has proven time and time again how lethal his hands are. But Usman should be able to dominate the fight if he clinches up or brings the fight to the mat.
Usman to win via decision.

Prediction: Kamaru Usman

Ross Markey: Sometimes in MMA you simply run into an opponent which is likely to have your number each time you share a contest with them, and I appears to me, that Kamaru Usman has the tools to suppress and mitigate the striking expertise of Jorge Masvidal once again. Last July — granted, on six day’s notice, Masvidal dropped a one-sided unanimous decision loss to the incumbent, and the narrative immediately laid out was his calls for a significant training camp. The rematch has come together all too quickly yet again between Usman and Masvidal, and while Gilbert Burns managed to pose some early questions to Usman in the form of an overhand right, I expect the Auchi native to tighten everything up once again against Masvidal. Count out the Floridian and it may be the rock you perish on, but Usman has that fight altering attribute to his game; his wrestling. Kamaru Usman via decision.

Prediction: Kamaru Usman

Zhang Weili vs. Rose Namajunas – UFC 261 Staff Predictions

In the UFC 261 co-main event we have an epic strawweight fight between Zhang Weili and Rose Namajunas. The Chinese champion is hoping to make the second defence of her 115lb belt. ‘Thug Rose’ is planning to regain the belt she lost in 2019. Who’ll win? Let’s see who the LowKickMMA staff are backing. Jordan […]

Jordan Ellis: I’m backing Rose Namajunas to cause an upset at UFC 261. ‘Thug’ is a true mixed martial artist who is capable to getting this done on the feet, on the floor or even by decision. Namajunas made much easier work of Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who I think was unlucky not to get the decision over Zhang last time out. Ultimately, I think Namajunas will get this fight to the mat and lock up a submission for the victory.

Prediction: Rose Namajunas

Alex Lough: The biggest question going into this fight for me is how will Zhang Weili look? She’s coming off what Dana White would call one of the ‘Fights-of-the-Ever’, and an almost 14-month layoff. We’ve seen those kind of wars change a fighter’s career, and Zhang is used to being much more active: she fought 14 times in 21 months prior to starting her UFC career. However, if she comes in looking like the Zhang Weili of old, I don’t see her losing this fight. When it comes to the stand up, I think she holds too much of a power advantage for Rose to overcome. Namajunas might be able to score from the outside early, but once Zhang is able to figure out the distance, she’ll be able to take over (see: Namajunas vs Andrade II). Namajunas will have the advantage in the grappling department, but that requires getting Zhang to the ground, which looks to be about as much fun as tackling a fire hydrant. Plus, it puts Rose in a position to get clinched, where Zhang is just nasty. I get the feeling I’ll know whether I’m right about this one in the first 30 seconds of the fight, but I’m guessing we’ll hear ‘And Still’.

Prediction: Zhang Weili

Frank Bonada: The hardest fight to call out of UFC 261’s 3 title fights. Namajunas is an excellent submission artist with great striking. However, Zhang is an absolute powerhouse with a seemingly endless gas tank. It’s a hard one to call but I’m leaning g towarda Zhang. Her tendency to up her output towards the end of each round will disrupt Namajunas’ rhythm. I expect it to be an incredible fight with Zhang to edge it via decision.

Prediction: Zhang Weili

Ross Markey: Akin to Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk last March, Zhang Weili vs. Rose Namajunas is the most competitive fight the promotion could filed for strawweight honours today. Weili is sizeable to say the least at the 115-pound limit, demonstrating real standout power, and against the above-mentioned, Jedrzejczyk, displayed that she can set an impressive pace for five rounds. Namajunas’ footwork and lateral movement is how she really sets up her hands, which have improved no end in recent years. I believe Namajunas will look to push the pace early, without as much hesitation as maybe her rematch with the uber-aggressive, Andrade, but if Weili can weather that initial onslaught, which I believe she can, Namajunas could be on the receiving end of some fight altering damage in the latter rounds. Weili to score her second title knockback via a fourth round TKO.

Prediction: Zhang Weili

Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Andrade – UFC 261 Staff Predictions

Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Andrade is the first title bout of the evening at UFC 261. ‘Bullet’ will look to make the fifth defence of her flyweight title against the former strawweight queen. Who’ll win? Let’s see who the LowKickMMA staff are backing. Jordan Ellis: I truly believe this is the toughest test of Valentina’s […]

Jordan Ellis: I truly believe this is the toughest test of Valentina’s flyweight title reign. Jessica Andrade is the best of the rest at 125lbs and has the power to cause problems at UFC 261. I’m not backing her to win though. I expect Shevchenko to look better than ever against this higher level of opposition. Ultimately, I think she’ll walk Andrade onto a perfect shot and secure a highlight-reel KO win.

Prediction: Valentina Shevchenko

Alex Lough: Back when we did our predictions for Shevchenko vs Maia, I said the only way someone would beat Valentina is by being an expert in one area and somehow catching her with that. And, you guys? Andrade is an expert at punching people really hard. On top of that, if you look back at her second fight against Rose, she showed a whole new level of understanding when it came to footwork and head movement. Look, I know she lost that fight, but she limited the amount of damage Namajunas was able to do and had completely taken over by the end of the 3rd. If that was a 5 round fight, Rose wasn’t making it out of the 4th. I truly think the Andrade that showed up that night can beat anyone in the division. At worst, Jessica will be the toughest challenge Shevchenko has faced since winning her belt. Facing her first real step up in competition in the past 2 1/2 years could catch Shevchenko off guard. I know it’s going to take a career best performance for her to get it done, but it’s a level of performance we’ve seen her reach before. The UFC better get Al Michaels on the call. Andrade by decision or late (T)KO.

Prediction: Jessica Andrade

Frank Bonada: Valentina Shevchenko is one of the most dominant champions in modern MMA. Whilst Jessica Andrade brings a level of power and tenacity that Shevchenko has not faced since her last fight with Nunes, I still don’t see the belt changing hands. Shevchenko’s versatility will likely be too much for Andrade. Either a late KO or a unanimous decision victory for “Bullet”

Prediction: Valentina Shevchenko

Ross Markey: I’ve always maintained that the most difficult test for Valentina Shevchenko to overcome during her flyweight reign, would come from a division lower in the form of former strawweight champion, Jessica Andrade. The Brazilian’s aggression could be an interesting factor in this clash with the striking-oriented Valentina, but when it comes to overall technique, Shevchenko is leaps and bounds ahead of Andrade, and is arguably the most technical strikers amongst her peers at this moment. While I believe Andrade has the ability to make this one quite interesting and pose some dangerous moments herself — Shevchenko is just far too technical and shrewd to allow herself to pocket fight — a possible scenario where Andrade could really score some damage. Shevchenko to take home another successful defence via decision.

Prediction: Valentina Shevchenko