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Updated March 16th, 2021 at 13:19 IST

UFC 261 gets full crowd, Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal 2 and other title bouts announced

Dana White & co. have stacked the UFC 261 fight card, which includes two more title fights, apart from Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal 2.

Reported by: Adil Khan
ufc 261
| Image:self
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UFC President Dana White made a major announcement earlier on Tuesday, confirming a rematch between current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and BMF (Baddest Mother F***er) titleholder Jorge Masvidal. The highly-anticipated bout will headline UFC 261, which is set to take place on April 24, 2021, inside the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. To make things even better, White also revealed that for the first time since the COVID-19 shutdowns, the promotion will open doors for a packed crowd.

“This is a stacked card in front of 15,000 UFC fans. I just want to say thank you, Jacksonville. I love you guys, and we will see you soon,” White said in the announcement video.

When is UFC 261: Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal 2 and others

Considering it’s an important day for UFC, Dana White & co. stacked the UFC 261 fight card, which includes two more title fights, apart from Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal 2. The co-main event will feature a women’s Flyweight title fight between the champion Valentina Shevchenko and Jessica Andrade. In the third title fight, fans will see Weili Zhang defend her women’s Strawweight title against former queen Rose Namajunas.

When is UFC 261: UFC 261 venue

Since the promotion shifted to UFC Apex due to COVID-19 shutdowns and restrictions, Dana White is determined to be the first to sell out an arena again. And choosing Jacksonville to host its first return event is not a surprise to many as the River City was one of the first to allow UFC to stage an event soon after the pandemic hit, which resulted in the postponement of UFC 249.  

UFC 261 venue: UFC 261 main event

According to reports, Jorge Masvidal is a slight betting favourite going into the rematch, even though he lost the first clash at UFC 251. Kamaru Usman dominated most of the rounds, eventually winning via unanimous decision (50–45, 50–45, 49–46). Since then, The Nigerian Nightmare has defended his title against Gilbert Burns at UFC 258 and Masvidal has not entered the octagon since the loss.

UFC 261 main event: Shevchenko vs Andrade and Zhang vs Namajunas

Since becoming the UFC women’s flyweight queen in 2018, Valentina Shevchenko has stayed undefeated in the division, defeating fighters like Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche, Katlyn Chookagian and Jennifer Maia. However, she’s reported to get a tough challenge from Jessica Andrade, who made her flyweight debut recently, defeating Chookagian via a first-round TKO.

Weili Zhang, on the other hand, has not fought since her first title defence against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248, which went on to become the best fight of 2020. The Chinese star, who’s riding on a 20-fight winning streak, will fight Rose Namajunas, who’ll be looking to win her title back.

Image Source: UFC/ Twitter

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Published March 16th, 2021 at 13:19 IST

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