Kamaru Usman Retains Title In A UFC 261 That Delivers Multiple KOs

Following a few intense first-round exchanges, it became pretty evident that Kamaru Usman would retain his welterweight edge over Jorge Masvidal during the main event at UFC 261 in Jacksonville.

So Usman used a massive right-handed blow to knockout Masvidal at the 1:02 mark of the second round in claiming Saturday's main event, which served as a rematch to their July 12, 2020 fight.

"The replay shows maybe the most perfect right hand ever landed in a title fight. You could put that thing in the Louvre," MMA Fighting's Jed Meshew. "It's honestly astonishing that Masvidal wasn't slept instantly. Usman is the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world and if anyone disagrees, they are insane."

Of course, this wasn't the only fight of the night, nor was it the only knockout. In an undercard, Rose Namajunas KO'd Zhang Weili with a remarkable head kick to reclaim strawweight title -- which led to a trending reaction from Joe Rogan.

https://twitter.com/TheNBAHustle/status/1386175424460320770

It was an exciting (albeit fairly quick) night of fighting, no doubt. But it was about more than just a couple of combatants' blood and sweat turning to tears. As OutKick's Meg Turner relayed, UFC 261 was also the first U.S. sporting event to become a true sellout since COVID-19 pandemic fears began -- with 15,000 fans packing VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena for the event.

This, of course, drew the ire of some from the media, including the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which blasted UFC president Dana White in an editorial.

White, being the true fighter he is, fired back.

“Hey Las Vegas, this is our piece of shit local newspaper,” White said. “Through this entire pandemic, we didn’t lay off a single employee. We worked with governmental agencies in Nevada and around the world to put on every event safely, and we chose to bring our biggest fight of the year with Conor McGregor back to town July 10th to help relaunch the city. Yet, this is how the Las Vegas Review-Journal shows its support for a true local business. Go fuck yourself LVRJ, and don’t bother coming to the fight in July.”

In other words, UFC 261 didn't just end with a massive KO. It started with one, too.