Kamaru Usman of Nigeria celebrates after his victory over Jorge Masvidal in their UFC welterweight championship fight (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal will meet in a rematch at UFC 261 and Ali Abdelaziz shared why the clash was made
The UFC Welterweight title will be defended at UFC 261 with Kamaru Usman taking on Jorge Masvidal.
The fight was confirmed by Dana White in a blockbuster announcement. White added that two more titles would be on the line with Valentina Shevchenko and Zhang Weili also defending their respective titles.
However, the big talking point of the event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Florida is the return of the fans.
The UFC has held events in Fight Island with a few fans but UFC 261 should see a full house. Usman and Masvidal have met in the past at UFC 251.
In that outing it was Usman who dominated Masvidal and kept the title. The Nigerian Nightmare then destroyed Gilbert Burns at UFC 258 and seemed ready for a rematch with Masvidal.
However, things then went a little out of hand as the champion backed out of the clash. That all is has changed and the fight is back on.
Ali Abdelaziz, the manager for Usman, opened up on why the fight took place. He confirmed that White and Usman met right after the win over Burns and the champ wanted to destroy his rival:
“February 15th I had the privilege of watching the king and king maker @USMAN84kg and @danawhite sit and talk.
“Kamaru wasn’t satisfied with the way he whipped that guy and wanted to rectify it. He asked and Dana granted this is who made this happen.”
Masvidal had only six days to prepare for the UFC 251 as he replaced a Covid-19 struck Burns. Gamebred claimed that a full training camp would see him take the head off Usman.
However, Usman, for his part, looked dominant during the Burns clash. Many believed Usman could be defeated by the Brazilian but the champ showed why he is on a 17-fight win streak.
Usman also hasn’t lost a single fight in his UFC career and is now considered as one of the best welterweights ever.
UFC 261 has a lot going for it and this is another cracking event that White and his team have set up.
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