Tag: UFC 261

‘Green Panty Night’: Kamaru Usman Believes He’s The Star, Not Jorge Masvidal Ahead Of UFC 261

Usman MasvidalKamaru Usman believes he’s the real star going into UFC 261. Usman will headline the upcoming pay-per-view event taking place April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida, against Jorge Masvidal in what will be a rematch of their welterweight title fight last year. It will also notably be the first UFC event that will feature fans in […]

Usman Masvidal

Kamaru Usman believes he’s the real star going into UFC 261.

Usman will headline the upcoming pay-per-view event taking place April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida, against Jorge Masvidal in what will be a rematch of their welterweight title fight last year.

It will also notably be the first UFC event that will feature fans in full attendance ever since the pandemic shut down majority of the world last year.

With two other title fights on show, the UFC is certainly going big with this event — especially with Masvidal being the biggest star taking part on the night.

Not according to Usman, however.

“You can’t say you’re the star and that’s who I want to beat,” Usman told ESPN (via Middle Easy). “That’s wrong because I have what everybody wants. So you can’t say that. Of course, does he bring more eyes right now? Absolutely. If I look at all the pools of guys, I’ve been through all of them and now I’m just lapping them all. If we’re running a race right now, I’m lapping everybody right now, and he’s the first guy. So he’s dead last right now, and the first guy that I’m going to lap. I’m lapping him.

“Does he bring a little bit more eyes? Absolutely, I don’t take that away from him. I’m proud of him for everything that he’s done, absolutely proud of him, and respect in that aspect. But let’s be honest, I have what everybody wants. It’s green panty night when you fight me. He’s not getting the pay-per-views and stuff like that on his own, he has to fight me.”

Usman certainly brings up a good point as we haven’t seen Masvidal’s pulling power when he isn’t headlining against the champion or another mainstream star in Nate Diaz.

That said, his star can only rise if he goes on to defeat Usman and become welterweight champion.

Do you agree with Usman?

Colby Covington Responds To Kamaru Usman: ‘You’d Rather Fight Bums’

Colby CovingtonColby Covington believes he deserves the next shot at the title, and he isn’t going to let anyone else suggest otherwise. Covington won the interim welterweight championship back in 2018 with a decision win over Rafael dos Anjos. He was later stripped of the belt when he was unable to defend it in the UFC’s […]

Colby Covington

Colby Covington believes he deserves the next shot at the title, and he isn’t going to let anyone else suggest otherwise.

Covington won the interim welterweight championship back in 2018 with a decision win over Rafael dos Anjos. He was later stripped of the belt when he was unable to defend it in the UFC’s time window, but would earn an opportunity to fight for the real thing against Kamaru Usman at UFC 245.

The two engaged in a vicious war of words leading up to the bout, which itself was a back-and-forth affair. Usman wound up scoring a late TKO victory, stopping Covington in the fifth round. ‘Chaos’ has since rebounded with a fifth round victory of his own over former champ Tyron Woodley, which he believes makes him the #1 contender for the title. However, the champion begs to differ.

“Show me some activity,” Usman said in a interview with Brett Okamoto. “Give me a reason. It’s not necessarily me. I know what I’m capable of doing. I’ve done it before. You can ask his jaw; I’ve done that before. Now, it’s time for him to show the people that he deserves another chance to fight for the title. You can’t sit back and say, ‘Oh, I beat Tyron Woodley. That’s it. I deserve a shot at the title.’ No, that doesn’t give you a shot at the title.”

Usman’s words got back to Covington, and he didn’t hold back on his feelings. He accused the champion of ducking him while looking for easier fights, and doubled down on his claim as the rightful next in line.

“Spoken like a true coward who doesn’t want to face the rightful #1 contender,” Covington responded in a Tweet. “The rankings have chosen and so have the people Marty. Just say the truth: you know you can’t win and you’d rather face bums like Street Judas for easy pay and checks.”

‘Street Judas’, of course, refers to Jorge Masvidal, who was recently named Usman’s opponent at UFC 261. The two met previously at UFC 251 in a fight Usman won by clear-cut decision. Despite not earning a victory since, Masvidal was selected over Covington for the opportunity, something that obviously doesn’t sit well with the former interim champ.

Despite not getting the call this time, Covington remains at the top of the welterweight pecking order and could very well see himself matched up against the winner. If that ends up being the case, then regardless of who wins on April 24, expect the trash talk between them and Covington leading up to the fight to be worth the price of admission.

Do you agree with Colby Covington? Is Kamaru Usman looking for easier fights?

Weili Zhang Reacts To Mike Tyson Dismissing Her Chances Against Rose Namajunas

ZhangUFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang is not too bothered by Mike Tyson’s prediction of her fight with Rose Namajunas. Zhang defends her 115-pound title against Namajunas at the upcoming UFC 261 pay-per-view event taking place April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida. And in a recent episode of his podcast, Tyson recently stated his belief to […]

Zhang

UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang is not too bothered by Mike Tyson’s prediction of her fight with Rose Namajunas.

Zhang defends her 115-pound title against Namajunas at the upcoming UFC 261 pay-per-view event taking place April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida.

And in a recent episode of his podcast, Tyson recently stated his belief to UFC president Dana White that Zhang would be destroyed by Namajunas.

What did Zhang make of those comments?

“That might be based on cultural differences between the East and the West,” Zhang said in a recent interview. “Easterners are relatively reserved and normally leave wiggle room when making predictions. There’s no defiance for no reason in our style. But Westerners are relatively outgoing and sometimes tend to pass judgement on things that haven’t happened yet.

“I also don’t think he’s really eligible to assess MMA as opposed to boxing, in which he has great experience. I could take it into consideration if he was involved with MMA, but he hasn’t really taken it up so maybe he’s just supporting from his country. His view hasn’t put any pressure on me or made me unhappy.”

While some outlets might take this as a dispute between the pair, it is simply a disagreement and Zhang still very much respects the boxing legend.

“… Instead, I respect him very much and I hope one day, he might take a chance in MMA. … I hope he can see this video.”

What do you make of Tyson’s prediction?

Leon Edwards Doesn’t See What Jorge Masvidal Does Differently Against Kamaru Usman

Usman MasvidalLeon Edwards expects the Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal rematch to go the same way. Usman will defend his welterweight title against Masvidal in a rematch that will headline the upcoming UFC 261 pay-per-view event taking place April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida. It will be Masvidal’s second straight attempt at welterweight gold after losing his […]

Usman Masvidal

Leon Edwards expects the Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal rematch to go the same way.

Usman will defend his welterweight title against Masvidal in a rematch that will headline the upcoming UFC 261 pay-per-view event taking place April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida.

It will be Masvidal’s second straight attempt at welterweight gold after losing his short-notice fight with Usman via an uneventful unanimous decision at UFC 251 in July last year.

Edwards was notably hoping to be next in line but will have to continue waiting. That said, he will still be watching and expects a good fight.

And while the narrative is that Masvidal will put up a better fight now that he will be more prepared with his camp and weight cut, Edwards doesn’t see what “Gamebred” can do different to prevent Usman from winning again.

“It’ll be a good fight, I’ll be watching it for sure,” Edwards said on Joe Rogan’s podcast (via Middle Easy). “But if I had to put money on it, I would probably go Usman for the win again. I can’t see what (Masvidal) can do differently. He’s going to come out again and do what he does, swing for the fences, and try to knock him out. Usman is going to have a high guard and just grapple him.

“I just can’t see what (Masvidal) does different. Unless he catches (Usman) and knocks him out, I just can’t see what he does differently.”

That’s not just Edwards talking as a rival as it seems to be the general opinion of many in the combat sports world.

However, the Birmingham native is a little dumbfounded as to how he and Masvidal have not yet fought despite their infamous UFC London backstage encounter in March 2019.

“For sure, I thought ‘okay that’s the next fight,’ straight away, and to have it now be two, two and a half years and we still ain’t fought yet?” Edwards added. “I’ve been calling him out ever since, and the UFC wants it, but he just keeps turning it down and saying no he don’t want to fight.”

Perhaps it could happen in the near future.

What do you make of Edwards’ comments?

UFC Champions Usman And Shevchenko Open As Big Favorites

Headed for UFC 261, the welterweight king Kamaru Usman has once again opened as the favorite for his second meeting with Jorge Masvidal, but not only that, flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko is also highly favored to win her contest against Jéssica A…

Headed for UFC 261, the welterweight king Kamaru Usman has once again opened as the favorite for his second meeting with Jorge Masvidal, but not only that, flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko is also highly favored to win her contest against Jéssica Andrade. After a complete shut-out performance by Usman, the NCAA wrestler sent Masvidal back […]

Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal 2 Betting Odds Released, Masvidal Requests His Own Prop

Usman MasvidalBetting odds have been released for the now-official rematch between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. It was announced by UFC president Dana White on Monday that the pair would headline the UFC 261 pay-per-view event taking place April 24 in a welterweight title fight. Their first meeting, of course, was at UFC 251 in July […]

Usman Masvidal

Betting odds have been released for the now-official rematch between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal.

It was announced by UFC president Dana White on Monday that the pair would headline the UFC 261 pay-per-view event taking place April 24 in a welterweight title fight.

Their first meeting, of course, was at UFC 251 in July last year in a fight that was booked on six days’ notice after original challenger Gilbert Burns had to pull out due to a positive COVID-19 test.

The resulting contest was a drab five-rounder that saw Usman get a comfortable unanimous decision.

Masvidal has since claimed things would be different in a rematch especially with a full camp. However, oddsmakers don’t seem to agree as Usman is a huge betting favorite going into the sequel.

“Here are the odds for Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal 2:

Kamaru Usman -350 (2/7)

Jorge Masvidal +285 (57/20)

(odds via @betonline_ag) #UFC261″

That means you would have to bet $350 to make a $100 profit on an Usman win while a $100 stake on a Masvidal win would earn you a profit of $285.

Nothing that surprising here as Usman just appears to be a bad matchup for “Gamebred” who hasn’t competed since their first fight. Usman, meanwhile, impressed many observers with his performance against Burns at UFC 258 where he came out on top with a third-round TKO victory.

Not that Masvidal expects the champion to stand with him as well.

“Over/under usman goes for my crotch within 2 min ? #andnew”

What do you make of these odds? Do you think Masvidal can pull off the upset?