The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns with a packed MMA night to welcomeback fans at a full capacity venue. With three championship fights in the main card, UFC 261 brings lot of expectation and it’s a must-watch. The highly-expected rematch between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal hogs the spotlight, but before them there will be two more belts at stake. Women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili puts her belt at stake against Rose Namajunas, and Valentina Schevchenko takes on Jessica Andrade to defend the Women’s Flyweight title. To catch all the action from the sports event in the US, tune in to ESPN+.
Welterweight reigning champion Kamaru Usman challenged Jorge Masvidal for a second meeting. The Nigerian defeated the 36-year-old about 9 months ago on a fight with short notice for the American, who took Gilbert Burns’ place less than a week before the bout. Masvidal singled out that if he had more time to prepare, the result would have been different.
Usman is putting his belt on the lineonce again to prove that lack of time had nothing to do withit. He heads to this bout with an impressive winning record as well, aiming to retain the title for the fourthtime. Masvidal now has the opportunity to bounce back from their previous meeting and to show if fighting on short notice was decisive before or not. Let’s take a look at the date, time, predictions, and odds for UFC 261.
Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal 2: Fight Information
Date: Saturday, April 24, 2021
Time: Early prelims 6 PM (ET), Main Card 10 PM (ET) approx. Usman vs Masvidal 12:15 AM (ET) approx.
Location: VyStar Veterans MemorialArena, Jacksonville, Florida.
Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal 2: Time by State in the US
Main Card
ET: 10 PM
CT: 9 PM
MT: 8 PM
PT: 7 PM
Usman vs Masvidal 2
ET: 12:15 AM (approx.)
CT: 11:15 PM
MT: 10:15 PM
PT: 9:15 PM
UFC 261 Fight Card
Main Card
. Kamaru Usmanvs Jorge Masvidal – Welterweight title (Usman)
. Zhang Weili vs Rose Namajunas – Women’s Strawweight title (Weili)
. Valentina Schevchenko vs Jessica Andrade – Women’s Flyweight title (Schevchenko)
. Uriah Hall vs Chris Weidman 2 – Middleweight
. Anthony Smith vs Jimmy Cruise – Light Weavyweight
Preliminary Card
. Alex OliveiravsRandy Brown – Welterweight . Dwight GrantvsStefan Sekulić – Welterweight . Karl Roberson vs Brendan Allen – Middleweight . Patrick Sabatinivs Tristan Connelly – Featherweight .Danaa Batgerelvs Kevin Natividad – Bantamweight . Kazula VargasvsRong Zhu – Lightweight . Qileng AorivsJeffrey Molina -Flyweight . Na LiangvsAriane Carnelossi -Women’s Strawweight
Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal 2: Storylines
Kamaru Usman puts the welterweight belt at stake facing Jorge Masvidal in a thrilling rematch in the return of the UFCto an arena at its full capacity. The reigning champion has successfuly retained his title three times, the latest one being early in 2021 against Gilbert Burns in UFC 258.
Shortly after that, the Nigerian will be taking the octagon once again against a well-known opponent. Jorge Masvidal willshow upin Jacksonville not onlyseeking his first championship ever, but also to take revenge against Usman. After insisting on the short preparation he had for that meeting, Masvidal now has the chance of defying Usman with more anticipation.
In this exciting event there will be two more title bouts. Defending championZhang Weili face former title holder Rose Namajunas with the strawweight belt on the line, and before that Valentina Schevchenko will try to hold onto her flyweight throne against Jessica Andrade, former strawweight champion who moved to this category on October 2020.
How to watch or live stream Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal 2 in the US
The fascinating UFC 261 that will present three blockbuster bouts, including the rematch between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal, will be broadcastin the US by ESPN+.
Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal 2: Predictions and Odds
Oddsmakers have already made their predictions ahead of this fight, and the reigning champion seems to be favorite. FanDuel has given odds of -390 to Kamaru Usman, while a triumph of Jorge Masvidal would result in a +310 payout.
| FanDuel | |
| Kamaru Usman | -390 |
| Jorge Masvidal | +310 |
* Odds via FanDuel.