| UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2 | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | April 24, 2021 (2021-04-24) | |||
| Venue | VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena | |||
| City | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | |||
| Attendance | 15,269 | |||
| Total gate | $3,300,000 | |||
| Buyrate | 700,000 | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 24, 2021 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States.
Background
The promotion had initially planned to hold the event in Singapore. However, negotiations with the Singaporean government fizzled amongst COVID-19 protocols and the promotion initially turned to their home base of Las Vegas. On March 15, UFC president Dana White announced the event would be moved to Jacksonville, Florida, with a full capacity of "15,000 UFC fans", marking the first time since UFC 248 in March 2020 that a full capacity crowd would be available (the UFC hosted a trio of events in Abu Dhabi in January with a limited number of fans). Jacksonville also hosted the UFC's first fights back after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, before the organization started hosting events in either Las Vegas or Abu Dhabi.
A UFC Welterweight Championship rematch between the current champion Kamaru Usman (also The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians welterweight winner) and Jorge Masvidal headlined the event. They previously met at UFC 251, where Usman defended his title via unanimous decision.
A UFC Women's Strawweight Championship bout between the current champion Zhang Weili and former champion Rose Namajunas took place as the co-main event.
A UFC Women's Flyweight Championship bout between current champion Valentina Shevchenko and former strawweight champion Jéssica Andrade completed the triad of title fights.
A middleweight rematch between former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman and Uriah Hall was expected to take place at UFC 258 in February. They met previously in September 2010 at a Ring of Combat event for the organization's middleweight title, with Weidman winning via TKO. However, Weidman was pulled from that event in late-January due to a positive COVID-19 test. The pairing remained intact and eventually took place at this event.
Johnny Walker was expected to face Jimmy Crute in a light heavyweight bout. However, Walker pulled out due to an injury and was replaced by former UFC Light Heavyweight Championship challenger Anthony Smith.
Randy Brown and Alex Oliveira were expected to meet in a welterweight bout at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gane, but Brown pulled out due to undisclosed reasons. They eventually fought each other at this event.
A bantamweight bout between Mark Striegl and Johnny Muñoz was expected to take place at the event. However, Striegl was removed from the bout on March 24 due to undisclosed reasons and replaced by Jamey Simmons. In turn, Simmons also pulled out on April 8 for undisclosed reasons. As a result, Muñoz was removed from the card as well and will be rescheduled for a future event.
Results
| Main card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Welterweight | Kamaru Usman (c) | def. | Jorge Masvidal | KO (punch) | 2 | 1:02 | |
| Women’s Strawweight | Rose Namajunas | def. | Zhang Weili (c) | KO (head kick) | 1 | 1:18 | |
| Women’s Flyweight | Valentina Shevchenko (c) | def. | Jéssica Andrade | TKO (elbows) | 2 | 3:19 | |
| Middleweight | Uriah Hall | def. | Chris Weidman | TKO (leg injury) | 1 | 0:17 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Anthony Smith | def. | Jimmy Crute | TKO (doctor stoppage) | 1 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Welterweight | Randy Brown | def. | Alex Oliveira | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 2:50 | |
| Welterweight | Dwight Grant | def. | Stefan Sekulić | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Brendan Allen | def. | Karl Roberson | Submission (ankle lock) | 1 | 4:55 | |
| Featherweight | Pat Sabatini | def. | Tristan Connelly | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Early preliminary card (ESPN2 / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Bantamweight | Danaa Batgerel | def. | Kevin Natividad | TKO (punches) | 1 | 0:50 | |
| Lightweight | Kazula Vargas | def. | Rong Zhu | Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Flyweight | Jeff Molina | def. | Aori Qileng | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women’s Strawweight | Ariane Carnelossi | def. | Na Liang | TKO (punches) | 2 | 1:28 | |
- For the UFC Welterweight Championship.
- For the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship.
- For the UFC Women's Flyweight Championship.
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.
- Fight of the Night: Jeff Molina vs. Aori Qileng
- Performance of the Night: Kamaru Usman and Rose Namajunas
See also
References
- ^ Mike Bohn (2021-04-25). "UFC 261 post-event facts: Kamaru Usman's octagon streak hits rarified air". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
- Mookie Alexander (2021-04-27). "Report: UFC 261 generated over 700,000 domestic pay-per-view buys". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
- ^ Raphael Marinho (2021-02-18). "Without agreement to perform UFC 261 in Singapore, UFC opts for Las Vegas". globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2021-02-18. (in Portuguese)
- ^ Staff (2021-03-15). "UFC 261 heads to Florida with Usman-Masvidal 2 leading three title fights in front of full crowd". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
- Andreas Hale (2020-07-14). "UFC 251 results: Kamaru Usman dominates Jorge Masvidal to retain UFC Welterweight title". dazn.com. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- Ariel Helwani (2021-02-26). "Sources: Zhang Weili vs. Rose Namajunas for strawweight title being targeted for UFC 261". espn.com. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- Mathew Scott (2021-03-09). "UFC 261: Zhang Weili confirmed to fight Rose Namajunas on April 24 in strawweight title clash". scmp.com. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- Brett Okamoto (2021-02-24). "Valentina Shevchenko-Jessica Andrade flyweight title fight set for UFC 261". espn.com. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
- Mike Bohn (2020-11-17). "Uriah Hall, Chris Weidman agree to rematch at UFC 258 on Feb. 13". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
- Keith D'Souza (2020-12-09). "Uriah Hall set to rematch Chris Weidman at UFC 258". essentiallysports.com. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- Ariel Helwani (2021-01-28). "Chris Weidman tests positive for COVID-19, bout vs. Uriah Hall now off". espn.com. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
- Mike Bohn (2021-01-29). "Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman rematch shifts from UFC 258 to UFC 261 after positive COVID-19 result". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- Brett Okamoto (2021-01-02). "UFC light heavyweights Jimmy Crute, Johnny Walker agree to March 27 fight, sources say". espn.com. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- Danny Segura (2021-02-09). "Anthony Smith replaces Johnny Walker, meets Jimmy Crute at UFC 261 in April". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
- John Morgan (2021-02-22). "Randy Brown out of UFC Fight Night 186; Alex Oliveira needs new opponent". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
- Staff (2021-03-24). "Rescheduled matchup of Randy Brown vs. Alex Oliveira among additions to UFC 261". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- Mike Heck (2021-03-03). "Johnny Munoz vs. Mark Striegl added to UFC 261". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
- Nolan King (2021-03-24). "With Mark Striegl out, Jamey Simmons targeted to fight Johnny Munoz at UFC 261". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
- Jack Welch (2021-04-08). "Johnny Munoz vs Jamey Simmons off for UFC 261". behindthegrind.co. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- "UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2". Ultimate Fighting Championship. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- Staff (2021-04-25). "UFC 261 bonuses: Kamaru Usman, Rose Namajunas among $50,000 no-brainers". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
