Kamaru Usman retained his welterweight belt after beating his rival Jorge Masvidal last night at UFC 261. With that victory, he now achieved 18 consecutive wins and 14 straight wins in the UFC.
Furthermore, the Nigerian American has the second-best winning streak in the UFC career behind Anderson Silva’s 16 straight wins. It was Usman’s fifth welterweight title fight victory, and he tied with “Pat Miletich for third-most wins in 170-pound title fights.”
Over the last six years of his UFC career, the Nigerian Nightmare has been so dominant that he has no one left to beat in the welterweight division. Kamaru Usman’s daughter Samirah feels “good” and “proud”about his father’s dominance. She appeared briefly with his father in the post-game interview.
Usman was aggressive from the beginning of the first round in terms of takedowns, and top control while slamming on the ground. However, Usman’s new tactics were complexly unknown to Masvidal as they wrestled 25 minutes in their last meeting in 2020.
Masvidal prepared to wrestle his rival in this fight too. “He showed me something that he didn’t show the first fight [when] I didn’t feel his power,” Masvidal said. Even though Gamebred did not expect takedowns from the 33-year-old champ, he countered Usman with kicks, right hands, and stiff jabs.
Kamaru Usman of Nigeria interacts with his daughter Samirah after his UFC welterweight championship. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)
Further, Masvidal could not enjoy beating Usman in the second round. The Nigerian Nightmare caught the opponent with a clean right cross and turned his chin, which left Masvidal unconscious at 1:02 of the second round.
Last night’s win takes Usman to another level in the UFC welterweight division. Eventually, he is on his way to becoming the all-time greatest in the UFC.
