After all the turmoil, ups and downs, and stuff, Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal will clash after all. The UFC 251 headliner features the welterweight title fight between these two guys, and promises a lot of fun. Even though Masvidal has just six days to prepare for the battle, he won’t go down that easy. Plus, after seeing what Justin Gaethje did to Tony Ferguson as a replacement. Usman is the absolute favorite because of all the circumstances surrounding the match, but still, as we said, just remember Gathje’s fight. We don’t know if there is a rematch guaranteed, but that isn’t changing anything in this article.
Preview
Usman comes into this match with 15 straight wins. After recording the only career loss in his second fight, the Nigerian Nightmare went on a rampage, which would bring him the welterweight title, and a reputation of one of the toughest guys in the entire UFC.
The champ is not only a big trash talker but also a person who is willing to put the money where his mouth is. We saw that against Covington, Woodley, and many times before, and we will see that again versus Masvidal no doubts about that.
Once mentioning his previous rivals, the latest one was Covington at the UFC 245, and Usman defeated the American via fifth-round TKO. Before that, he warned his title against Woodley, defeating the champion at the time via unanimous decision and after a pretty convincing performance.
He would also defeat several other big names such as Leon Edwards, Rafael dos Anjos and Demian Maia. What is his biggest advantage is stamina, because Usman can endure such a beating and continue going ahead.
Masvidal is in trouble here. That is what we need to say right from the beginning. He has just six days to prepare for Kamaru, and apart from this fact, didn’t go through the training camp. Gamebred’s additional problem are 22 pounds that he needs to cut down until the fight, meaning that his energy level will be pretty low coming into the contest.
Overall, this guy emerged as one of the superstars in the previous three years, even though he is a veteran with 48 MMA appearances until now. He would defeat Cowboy Cerrone, then post two decision losses against Maia and Stephen Thompson, before going on a three-match winning streak.
Gamebred beat Darren Till, Ben Askren, and Nate Diaz in all of them via knockout. KO against Askren was the fastest in the entire UFC history, and that is something that launched Masvidal into the elite echelon of fighters in this organization. In the next match, he took the unofficial BMF title against Diaz.
Prediction
We do love Masvidal’s style and his personality, but in this contest, we have to go with Usman, who is in better shape. We already said that the Nigerian has unreal endurance and that he has the energy to go seven rounds, not five, and from our point of view that will be crucial in this event.
Masvidal didn’t have the proper training, and as time goes by, Usman’s chances will only grow. If the American doesn’t finish the job in the first round or two, there is simply no way for him to come out as a winner form this contest. However, knowing the champ, he won’t allow any such scenario. Odds on his win are at 0.36, and that is our choice.
