
via Imago
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – JULY 12: Jorge Masvidal battles Kamaru Usman in their UFC welterweight championship fight during the UFC 251 event at Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on July 12, 2020 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

via Imago
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – JULY 12: Jorge Masvidal battles Kamaru Usman in their UFC welterweight championship fight during the UFC 251 event at Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on July 12, 2020 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
At UFC 258, Kamaru Usman will put his welterweight title on the line for the third time against his former teammate Gilbert Burns. The fight has been a long time coming and was initially set to take place in July 2020 at UFC 251. However, a positive test ruled ‘Durinho’ out of the fight.
This paved the way for a blockbuster matchup between ‘Gamebred’ and ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ at UFC 251, which became the second highest-selling PPV event of 2020.
The fight, however, was not the most entertaining. Usman received a lot of criticism for his approach to the fight at UFC 251. Ultimately, the champion did his job of defending his belt and held on to the 170-pound strap, albeit not in the most exciting way.
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Jorge Masvidal guns for a rematch against Kamaru Usman
‘Gamebred’ took to Twitter a few hours back. He said, “I took your nose on 6 days. 3 weeks I take the belt. Full camp I take your head #theresurrection”
I took your nose on 6 days. 3 weeks I take the belt. Full camp I take your head #theresurrection
— Jorge Masvidal UFC (@GamebredFighter) February 12, 2021
Much of the intrigue surrounding UFC 251 was to see how both men would cope with the short notice fight. While Usman had been in a training camp preparing for Gilbert, Masvidal had not been in a training camp preparing for anyone specifically.
Although ‘Gamebred’ accepted the fight on short notice, he fared well against the champion. During the fight, Masvidal landed 66 significant strikes with an accuracy of 52% and 88 total strikes with an accuracy of 56%.
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The champion could secure only 5 out of 16 attempted takedowns and finished with a control time of 16:38. Since the fight, there have been questions as to how Masvidal would have fared if he was able to undergo a full training camp.

via Imago
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – JULY 12: Jorge Masvidal battles Kamaru Usman in their UFC welterweight championship fight during the UFC 251 event at Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on July 12, 2020 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
The ‘BMF’ title holder seems pretty confident that if he can undergo a full training camp before facing Usman that another ‘Baptism’ is in order.
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If both men are able to win their upcoming fights, it will not be long before they face each other once again. Fans will be hoping that the next time Usman and Masvidal face each other, it will be after weeks of preparing exclusively for the other’s fight style.
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