UFC 251: Usman Kamaru Beat Jorge Masvidal To Retain Welterweight Title

Usman Kamaru has defended his UFC welterweight title in an all-round victory against an American fighter, Jorge Masvidal, on Sunday at the UFC 251 in the United Araba Emirates, Abu Dhabi. 

Masvidal had boasted ahead of the fight at the press conference, of beating the Nigerian-born American fighter who he described as "mentally weak" and his team as a group of "idiots" for trying to avoid him to face fighters that will be easy to beat. Usman was meant to fight Gilbert Burns but was replaced with Jorge after testing positive for coronavirus symptoms. 

The American, 35, who was drafted to fight Usman just six days ago, proved the kind of fighter that he is made of and successfully landed a couple of shots on the champion. Still, Usman reached for his best skills and made a huge takedown of Masvidal in the third round. 

Again, Usman attempted another takedown in the third round but could not, and had he locked against the wired ring before landing a head boot on Masvidal that left him with a bloodied face through the remainder of the round. In the end, the defending champion was pronounced in a unanimous vote, 50-45, 50-49, 49-46, issued by three judges. 

"Jorge is a tough guy and I gave him credit for that. They call him 'Gamebred' for a reason - he's always game to fight. I'm just a level better. I have more tools in the toolbox," said Usman. 

Usman extended his winning streak to 12 consecutive victories to level with the record set by the Russian fighter, Khabib Nurmangomedov. Since he claimed Welterweight champion after beating Tyron Woodley in 2019, Usman has maintained the title through two fights.