UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman dominated Jorge Masvidal last year over five rounds. But Usman wasn’t satisfied with that performance; he thought he could do better.
Usman put a stamp on his rivalry with Masvidal on Saturday night, dropping Masvidal with a crushing right hand and following up on the ground for a knockout victory at 1 minute, 2 seconds of the second round in the main event of UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Florida.
With the victory, Usman defended his 170-pound title. It was the first time the famously durable Masvidal had been finished by KO/TKO since 2008.
ESPN had Usman ranked No. 2 in the world on its best pound-for-pound MMA fighters list coming in. At welterweight, ESPN has Usman at No. 1 and Masvidal at No. 7. Now, Usman has to be considered one of the best in the world currently, and the questions will begin about where he stands on the all-time list.
Usman, 33, now has his fourth straight title defense and his 14th straight UFC victory. He has the second-longest winning streak in UFC history; only Anderson Silva has more consecutive wins (16).
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