UFC 261 Results: Usman vs. Masvidal 2

UFC 261 returned to a full-capacity audience at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, on April 24, 2021. Three championship fights led the card, and all three ended by stoppage: Kamaru Usman retained at welterweight, Rose Namajunas reclaimed the strawweight title, and Valentina Shevchenko retained at flyweight.

Usman finishes the Masvidal rematch

Usman had defeated Jorge Masvidal by decision at UFC 251. Their second meeting ended much sooner: a right hand dropped Masvidal, and the finishing sequence produced a knockout at 1:02 of round two.

The champion retained the welterweight belt with a result that was markedly different from the clinch-and-control approach of their first fight. The finish became the defining image of a main event held before a packed arena.

Namajunas regains gold; Shevchenko dominates

Namajunas faced Zhang Weili in the co-main event and landed a head kick that set up the first-round finish at 1:18. She became strawweight champion again, ending Zhang’s reign.

In the third title fight, Shevchenko repeatedly took down Jessica Andrade and controlled her on the ground. Elbows from a dominant position ended the contest at 3:19 of round two. Shevchenko’s victory was a successful women’s flyweight defense, separate from the strawweight title change above it.

Injury stoppages and the preliminary results

Uriah Hall’s fight with Chris Weidman ended after Weidman suffered a severe leg injury on a checked kick. Hall won by TKO at 17 seconds. Anthony Smith also earned a stoppage over Jimmy Crute when the doctor ended their contest after round one.

The preliminaries included submissions by Randy Brown and Brendan Allen, striking finishes by Danaa Batgerel and Ariane Carnelossi, and decisions for Dwight Grant, Pat Sabatini, Rodrigo Vargas and Jeff Molina. The full 13-bout record captures both the championship finishes and an active supporting card, while treating the injury endings as distinct events rather than ordinary knockouts.

Complete UFC 261 results

• Kamaru Usman def. Jorge Masvidal — KO (punch), R2, 1:02; retained welterweight title.
• Rose Namajunas def. Zhang Weili — KO (head kick), R1, 1:18; won women’s strawweight title.
• Valentina Shevchenko def. Jessica Andrade — TKO (elbows), R2, 3:19; retained women’s flyweight title.
• Uriah Hall def. Chris Weidman — TKO (leg injury), R1, 0:17.
• Anthony Smith def. Jimmy Crute — TKO (doctor stoppage), R1, 5:00.
• Randy Brown def. Alex Oliveira — submission (rear-naked choke), R1, 2:50.
• Dwight Grant def. Stefan Sekulic — split decision, R3, 5:00.
• Brendan Allen def. Karl Roberson — submission (ankle lock), R1, 4:55.
• Pat Sabatini def. Tristan Connelly — unanimous decision, R3, 5:00.
• Danaa Batgerel def. Kevin Natividad — TKO (punches), R1, 0:50.
• Rodrigo Vargas def. Rongzhu — unanimous decision, R3, 5:00.
• Jeff Molina def. Aoriqileng — unanimous decision, R3, 5:00.
• Ariane Carnelossi def. Liang Na — TKO (punches), R2, 1:28.

Sources

UFC 261 official results; Sherdog: UFC 261 complete event record.

Article Tags

UFC, UFC 261, Mixed Martial Arts