It was champion vs. champion at UFC 251 on Fight Island this weekend.
After Gilbert Burns tested positive for COVID-19, BMF Champion Jorge Masvidal stepped in to the UFC 251 main event. But it wasn't his title that was on the line, it was Kamaru Usman's UFC Welterweight Championship that was at stake in the UFC's biggest title fight of the year thus far.
Having fun yet? --#UFC251 getting intense through 2️⃣ pic.twitter.com/CXhGfd94T4
— UFC (@ufc) July 12, 2020
Unfortunately, that didn't translate to in-cage action. A busy first round gave way to Usman's grappling supremacy, often against the cage. On occasion, Usman would punish Masvidal on the ground with elbows and punches en route to a one-sided unanimous decision. It was Usman's second successful championship defense.
Respect. #UFC251 pic.twitter.com/Jo6mhXWpQ0
— UFC (@ufc) July 12, 2020
Usman moves to 17-1, while Masvidal falls to 35-14. After the short notice loss, Masvidal told Usman that he hoped for a rematch.
He's a problem! ----
— UFC (@ufc) July 12, 2020
-- @Usman84kg closes the show on top!#UFC251 #InAbuDhabi @VisitAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/pPjV2mN4bL
You can see our full, live coverage of UFC 251 from Fight Island at this link, and check out our show recap podcast at this link. Stay tuned to our relaunch of FightfulMMA.com in August, headed up by new Lead MMA Editor Shakuel Mahjouri.
