by Darren Moore
Kamaru “Nigerian Nightmare” Usman (18-1-0) makes the fourth defense of his Welterweight title when he fights Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal (35-14-0) at UFC 261 with a capacity 15,000 crowd at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday night.
UFC 261 Full Card
Main Card (PPV)
- Welterweight – Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal
- Women’s Strawweight – Zhang Weili vs. Rose Namajunas
- Women’s Flyweight – Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jéssica Andrade
- Middleweight – Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman
- Light Heavyweight – Anthony Smith vs. Jimmy Crute
Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+)
- Welterweight – Alex Oliveira vs. Randy Brown
- Welterweight – Dwight Grant vs. Stefan Sekulić
- Middleweight -Karl Roberson vs. Brendan Allen
- Featherweight – Patrick Sabatini vs. Tristan Connelly
Early Preliminary Card (ESPN+)
- Bantamweight – Danaa Batgerel vs. Kevin Natividad
- Lightweight – Kazula Vargas vs. Rong Zhu
- Flyweight – Qileng Aori vs. Jeffrey Molina
- Women’s Strawweight – Na Liang vs. Ariane Carnelossi
- Bantamweight – Jamey Simmons vs. Johnny Muñoz
It will be Usman’s second title defense against the 36-year-old Masvidal, having already beaten him on a unanimous decision in July 2020.
It was no great surprise that Masvidal lost that fight, having taken it at just six days notice as a late replacement for Gilbert “Durinho” Burns (who had to pull out after testing positive for COVID-19), having to lose approximately 20 pounds and having to endure a long flight to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Kamaru Usman
Age: 33 | Fighting Out Of: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
The Nigerian was last in action in February, when he beat the Brazilian Burns with a third-round stoppage. He stopped three takedown attempts against Burns, so retaining his impeccable 100% takedown defense rate.
Jorge Masvidal
Age: 36 | Fighting Out Of: Miami, Florida
Having had the opportunity to prepare properly, Masvidal has to be considered a serious threat to the champion. Masvidal’s greatest strength is his boxing ability and he has a great range of striking skills and is a fine grappler too.
UFC 261 Odds
Usman opened up a moderate favorite with the early Vegas sportsbooks odds going into this fight and that looks justified. However, Masvidal has never been knocked out in his career, so the champion might need to go the distance to beat this opponent again.
UFC 261 Pick:
Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal Pick
- Method of Victory: Kamaru Usman to Win by Decision or Technical Decision
Other UFC 261 Betting Picks
Zhang Weili vs Rose Namajunas
Elsewhere on the card there are two more title fights. Our next UFC 261 pick comes in the Weili vs Namajunas fight. Zhang “Magnum” Weili (21-1-0) will be defending her Strawweight title against former champion Rose “Thug” Namajunas (10-4-0).
The 31-year-old Zhang was last in action when making her first title defense in March last year, when she beat Poland’s Joanna Jedrzejczyk on a split decision in what was considered to be arguably the greatest women’s title fight in UFC history.
The Chinese champion comes into the fight as a slight favorite on the odds and she looks capable of retaining her belt against the 28-year-old American.
Zhang vs Namajunas Pick:
- Fight Result: Zhang Weili to Win at -200 with Bovada Sportsbook
Valentina Shevchenko vs Jessica Andrade
Also on the card, the 33-year-old Kyrgyzstan champion Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko (20-3-0) defends her Flyweight title against Jessica “Bate Estaca” Andrade (21-8-0). Shevchenko was last in action in November 2020, when she wasn’t totally convincing in a unanimous decision victory over Jennifer Maia.
The 29-year-old Brazilian Andrade last fought in October last year when she stopped Katlyn Chookagian with a first-round stoppage.
The champion is a fairly strong favorite to retain her title and looks capable of extending her winning streak to seven fights here.
Shevchenko vs Andrade Pick:
- Method of Victory: Valentina Shevchenko to Win by Decision or Technical Decision
* UFC 261 odds correct at the time of writing. All betting odds are subject to change.
Darren lives & breathes sports betting and is always sniffing out his next value bet. His favourite sports to bet on are the NFL, horse racing and UFC but he will bet on anything if he thinks the odds are favourable.
