Usman KOs Masvidal to keep welterweight title
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman left no doubt in his rematch with Jorge Masvidal.
Usman knocked out Masvidal at the 1:02 mark of the second round in the UFC 261 main event Saturday night to retain his title at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
The champion dropped Masvidal with a brutal straight right and landed a few punches on the ground until the referee stepped in.
"Jacksonville, Florida, you said you wanted violence," Usman said in his postfight interview. "You're welcome."
The welterweights exchanged strikes on the feet in the opening round. Usman landed a takedown, but Masvidal scored solid elbows off his back and returned to his feet.
Usman began tagging him more on the feet in the second round and then landed a vicious punch that put Masvidal to sleep.
The 33-year-old previously defended his belt against Masvidal last July in a one-sided decision.
"I just want to say, no disrespect," Usman said. "Thank you to my man Jorge. ... He elevated me. He made me go to the workshop, and I had to sharpen up all my tools and come out here and put on a performance like that."
Usman added that he's "still getting better" and believes he deserves to be ranked No. 1 on the UFC's pound-for-pound list after beating Masvidal for the second time.
"I know with my fundamentals, I am the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet right now," Usman said.
Usman now owns the second-longest winning streak in UFC history with 14 straight victories, according to MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn. He was previously tied with five fighters at 13 and is two wins from tying Anderson Silva's record. Usman already owned the longest winning streak in UFC welterweight history.
Masvidal suffered the second knockout loss of his career - and his first since 2008 - in what was his 50th professional fight. He said afterward he didn't expect Usman to strike as much as he did and that he was prepared to wrestle for 25 minutes.
"Usman showed me something that he didn't show the first fight," Masvidal said in his postfight interview. "I didn't feel his power. And that's what happens when you get overconfident. ... He caught me by surprise. He won fair and square."
"The Nigerian Nightmare" has retained his 170-pound belt four times since winning it in March 2019. This was a relatively quick turnaround after Usman stopped Gilbert Burns at UFC 258 in February.
Masvidal has now lost two fights in a row after winning three straight in his breakout 2019 campaign.