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07/12/20 01:12:00
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07/12 01:10 CDT Usman, Volkanovski, Yan leave Fight Island with belts
Usman, Volkanovski, Yan leave Fight Island with belts
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) --- Kamaru Usman retained his welterweight
title with a smothering victory over short-notice challenger Jorge Masvidal at
UFC 251 on Sunday.
Alexander Volkanovski retained his featherweight title with a narrow split
decision over Max Holloway, and Petr Yan won the vacant UFC bantamweight
championship with a fifth-round stoppage victory over Jos Aldo on Yas Island,
the UAE tourist destination turned into a secure bubble by the UFC during the
coronavius pandemic.
Former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas avenged her loss to Jssica Andrade
with a split-decision win in their rematch on the UFC's so-called "Fight
Island." The mixed martial arts promotion will host four shows this month at
the arena, with more expected in the upcoming months at its haven from the
coronavirus.
Usman (17-1) earned his 16th straight MMA victory and defended his belt for the
second time with a cerebral, technical performance against the 35-year-old
Masvidal (35-14), who gallantly accepted his first UFC title shot on six days'
notice when Gilbert Burns tested positive for the coronavirus.
"(Masvidal) is the biggest, baddest dude out there right now," Usman said. "I
had to switch gears and prepare for him on six days' notice. I know a lot was
made of him taking the fight on short notice, but all these guys are preparing
for one guy, and that's me at the top of the mountain. I had to make a mental
shift. I had a completely different game plan."
Masvidal was eager for a knockout, and the former backyard brawler came out
swinging in an exciting first round. But while Masvidal's wind faded, Usman
coolly took charge with wrestling takedowns, foot stomps and judicious strikes
mixed with superior conditioning.
Two judges scored it 50-45 for Usman, and a third had it 49-46.
Some fans might have booed Usman's strategy, but there were no fans inside the
temporary arena. UFC 251 began well before dawn Sunday morning in Abu Dhabi to
meet the time demands of the lucrative North American pay-per-view audience,
and the sun rose as the card progressed.
Volkanovski (22-1) earned his 19th consecutive MMA victory since 2013 by a
razor-thin margin, winning 48-47 on two of the three cards when his leg kicks
and takedowns earned the decision over Holloway's overall striking game.
"It was a tough fight," Volkanovski said. "He stood there and didn't really
take a backward step. I couldn't use the kicks as much as I liked. I knew I had
to win that last round. It's tough. He's a gamer. We're both hard workers, but
I got the job done."
The Australian champion won his belt last December with a virtuoso technical
performance against Holloway (21-6), who had reigned atop the division for the
previous three years.
In the rematch, Holloway showed off another level of his superb striking skills
while weathering dozens more leg kicks from Volkanovski, who relied largely on
that strike to win the first bout. Holloway largely controlled the first two
rounds, but Volkanovski increased his output starting in the third round and
added a few takedowns to bolster his case with the judges.
Three title belts were on the line on the same card for only the sixth time in
UFC history, and Yan (15-1) claimed the first one by persevering for a beating
of Aldo (28-7), the former featherweight champion dethroned by Conor McGregor
in 2015.
Yan weathered an inspired start by Aldo, and eventually established his
dominance with superior striking. After Yan battered a bloody Aldo into a
turtled position on the canvas in the fifth round, referee Leon Roberts allowed
the fight to continue for an alarming amount of time before stopping it with
1:36 left.
"I expected it to be a hard fight," Yan said through an interpreter. "That was
our plan, to get him tired early on, and then in the third round, start
attacking."
Aldo has lost three straight fights and six of his last nine, but he caused
problems for Yan early on until the younger Russian took over.
Namajunas (9-4) returned from a 14-month break since Andrade (20-8) claimed her
title with an upset victory, surprising the champ with a body slam after
Namajunas dominated the early fight.
Namajunas never allowed an opportunity for Andrade to finish her in the
rematch, dominating the first two rounds with her slick striking and fluid
movement. Andrade rallied in the third and badly damaged Namajunas' nose and
left eye, but Namajunas won 29-28 on two judges' scorecards.
"I was just in the right state of mind," Namajunas said. "That's everything.
Early on in the fight, I was doing great. Then I think she hit the desperation
button and started really unloading. She caught me a couple of times, but I
just stayed strong."
If her nose heals up quickly, Namajunas could get the next title shot at Zhang
Weili, who took the belt from Andrade late last year.
Brazilian flyweight Amanda Ribas kicked off the pay-per-view card with a
first-round armbar submission victory over Paige VanZant. Ribas (10-1) improved
to 4-0 in the UFC with a swift dismantling of the popular VanZant (8-5), whose
UFC contract is up after four losses in her last six bouts.
Jiri Prochzka wrapped up the non-PPV undercard with a spectacular knockout of
former light heavyweight title contender Volkan Oezdemir in the opening minute
of the second round.
Prochzka (27-3-1) is a Czech veteran who has fought mostly in Japan for the
past five years, and he was impressive in his hyped UFC debut. Prochzka
lowered his hands, stuck out his chin and boldly dared Oezdemir to hit him in
the first round, and he ended the fight with a head kick followed by a punch
that rendered his Swiss opponent unconscious.
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