UFC: Kamaru Usman makes Joe Rogan lose his mind in an incredible Fight Night!
Jacksonville, Florida - Not a single fight went the distance Saturday night at UFC 261 in Jacksonville, with a few winners taking home championship belts by way of knockout after knockout.
The main event card was headlined by the rematch many were waiting for, Kamaru Usman (33) defending his welterweight title against Jorge Masvidal (36).
This was a highly anticipated fight since they last met each other in the octagon last summer. Usman retained the title after earning the split decision win in that one. Just after midnight, both fighters were right back at it once again, in a brutal bout with Usman taking control from one round into the next.
With just over a minute into the second round, Usman took the fight with a right hook from hell, which put Masvidal to sleep almost instantly. Joe Rogan's reaction to the shattering knockout immediately went viral, capturing most viewers' reaction to a stunning win.
Usman, whose record now reads 19-1-0, was definitely the more effective striker, doing more damage despite Masvidal scoring almost twice as many total strikes during the fight.
This was Usman’s fourth-straight title defense, also giving him his fourteenth victory in a row. Jorge Masvidal’s record now falls to 35-15-0.
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In the Women’s Strawweight title fight, Rose Namajunas made quick and precise work of her opponent titleholder Zhang Weili. She took the belt with just four strikes to the champ’s head, earning the knockout win with kicks at 1:18 seconds into the first round. The new champ is now 11-4-0, and Weili now sits at 21-2-0.
And in the Women’s Flyweight title fight, Kyrgyzstan’s Valentina Shevchenko defended her belt over challenger Jessica Andrade, in another co-main event. This went a little longer than the strawweight bout, but the champ closed it down with elbows in the second round for the knockout victory.
Shevchenko improves to 21-3-0, while Andrade falls to 21-9-0
The card also featured a middleweight bout that ended in a rather gruesome fashion, with Uriah Hall being declared the winner by TKO (injury). His opponent Chris Weidman had to be taken out of the octagon on a stretcher, due to a leg break after only 17 seconds into the fight. Hall was awarded the win by default, which is definitely not the way
And Anthony Smith improved to 35-16-0 with a first-round TKO over Jimmy Crute. Both fighters were battling in the first round, but after Crute seemed to have nerve-related issues in his left foot, an official doctor declared him unfit to continue into the second round. Because of the result, Crute’s record now stands at 12-2-0.
The UFC will be back in action on May 1 for UFC: Fight Night, headlined by Reyes vs. Prochazka in a light heavyweight match-up
Cover photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire