UFC 261: Three reasons to watch Jorge Masvidal-Kamaru Usman 2

The UFC is back with a monster pay-per-view this Saturday night (which you can order on ESPN+) that features three title fights to close out a really good main card.

Oh, and UFC 261 will take place in front of a full crowd in Jacksonville, Fla. for the first time since the start of the pandemic last year.

So yeah, it should be a very interesting night of fights.

The main event features a rematch between welterweight champ Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. Usman, of course, won the first one last July via unanimous decision but Masvidal took that fight on just a few days notice so we’ll have to see how a full camp could change things in this one.

Let’s look at three reasons to watch UFC 261.

1. Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Andrade should be a really fun one. 

Shevchenko puts her flyweight belt on the line against Andrade, who briefly owned the strawweight belt back in 2019. Shevchenko has won six straight fights and is always must-see TV when she enters the octagon. I gotta think somewhere down the line she’ll get a third fight with Amanda Nunes but for right now she will face some stiff competition from Andrade.

2. Weili Zhang vs. Rose Namajunas has all the makings for a classic.  

The last time we saw Zhang in the octagon she was defending her belt in a tremendous fight with Joanna Jędrzejczyk in early March of 2020. Now she takes on Namajunas, the former strawweight champ who is looking to get her belt back. Zhang is the real deal and has only lost one professional fight way back in 2013. I expect her to win this one, too, but I also think it should be a very good battle.

3. How will Masvidal look with a full camp for Usman? 

Usman’s resume easily makes him one of the greatest champs in UFC history and he wanted this rematch with Masvidal because of how Masvidal took the last fight on just a few days notice. In Usman’s eyes, he can erase any talk of how that lack of prep led to his win. Usman wants to leave no doubt that Masvidal can’t beat him and he’s a big favorite to win this fight. That being said, Masvidal is one of the baddest guys in the fight game and can end a fight with a flying knee or a devastating strike. He’s dangerous at any moment and now has a full camp under his belt. This one could be a close one and definitely should be an exciting one.