Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Kamaru Usman, popularly known as the Nigerian Nightmare, defeated his Mexican contender, Jorge Gamebred Masvidal, on Sunday to retain his crown as the undisputed welterweight champion at UFC 251.
The three judges for the fight unanimously found Usman better than his opponent and scored him 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46.
The contenders held the bout at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi after challenger, Masvidal, took the fight on just six days’ notice after original contender Gilbert Burns was forced out of the battle when he tested positive for coronavirus.
With this victory, Usman has now tied Georges St-Pierre’s record for the longest welterweight win streak.
He had the third-best starts to UFC history before going into the fight on Sunday morning.
Speaking after the fight, the Nigerian Nightmare said, “I trained for Gilbert, I had a completely different game plan and I had to make a mental shift.
“Jorge is a tough guy and I give him credit for that. For a reason, he always games the fight.
“I’m just a level better. I have more tools in the toolbox. And when I need to pull them out, I can pull them out and use them.” he added.
Burns and Usman are teammates and have been training together since 2012.
Masvidal was drafted in to replace him close to the day of the fight by Dana White.
The stage was set for something spectacular to happen in the storied career of Jorge Masvidal. Fresh from his breakout year in 2019, Gamebred took his first UFC title fight on six days’ notice, replacing Gilbert Burns.
Kamaru Usman has now extended his current winning streak to 16 while successfully defending his welterweight title via unanimous decision.
With the victory, Kamaru Usman now has 17 wins and just one loss while Masvidal’s defeats rose to 14 with 35 wins.
Masvidal suffered back-to-back defeats in 2017 but revived his UFC career in 2019, thrusting himself into world-title contention with three explosive wins.
