15 minutes and 56 seconds. That’s how long the entire UFC 261 main card lasted in terms of actual fight time on Saturday night. Yet the amount of drama, intrigue, and stomach turning visuals that were crammed into those fifteen minutes was unlike anything MMA fans have seen for quite some time.
Following an average undercard short on watercooler moments, the main card kicked off with a bang in Jacksonville. Light heavyweights Anthony Smith and Jimmy Crute were the openers for the PPV event which saw a capacity crowd watching the UFC for the first time since the onset of the pandemic. Though “masks were encouraged”, Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry allowed the mask mandate to expire last month, meaning fans were no longer obligated to wear them in public. And wear them they did not.
Anthony Smith was clearly excited to see fans in the stands again, paying little to no attention to his opponent on his way to the ring or in pre fight intros. Instead he pandered to the Florida faithful throughout, with the camera panning to show an electric (though maskless) atmosphere in the arena several times to set the tone for the evening.
Despite coming in as the underdog, the 6th ranked light heavyweight Smith peppered Crute with straight left jabs and began to form a small but noticeable welt under the up and comer’s right eye. However, it wouldn’t be punches that would ultimately end the fight, as Crute ate a leg kick to his knee and then stepped back awkwardly before falling to the mat. Ever the game fighter, Crute actually managed a takedown from his knees on Smith, but when the horn sounded to end the round it was evident that Crute’s leg wasn’t right.
Replays showed a strange ripple going up his leg muscles, but it’s hard to say exactly what injury the Aussie sustained (achilles, MCL, ACL, ankle etc.) as his entire leg seemed to give out beneath him. Though he pleaded his case to continue, medical staff stopped the fight due to injury and Smith was declared the winner by TKO.
As strange a start to the night as that was, it was unfortunately a prelude for what was still to come. In a gruesome case of history repeating itself, Chris Weidman threw an innocent looking leg kick which was checked by Uriah Hall. However Weidman’s leg broke clean through and when he went to step on it, his lower limbs moved in ways no one’s body parts should. We’ll avoid posting the video of the injury here, but let it be known, the replay isn’t for the faint of heart.
In a cruel case of irony, it was Chris Weidman who was on the other side of an infamous checked leg kick years ago when UFC legend Anderson Silva suffered an identical looking injury to his leg in the octagon. Silva was quick to reach out through the media to offer words of encouragement and condolence to Weidman in the aftermath of the fight. Chris had to be taken out of the ring on a backboard, and one has to figure that with the long rehab road ahead of him this may be the last time we see the 36 year old inside the ring. A tough way to go out, but the former champ has nothing left to prove as a fighter and needs to put his health first.
Following back to back stoppages due to injury, Dana and the rest of the UFC brass had to be getting a bit nervous about their much hyped card going completely off the rails. Luckily Valentina Shevchenko put on another masterclass against Jessica Andrade and scored a decisive TKO victory over the challenger in the 2nd round. The well intentioned move up to Flyweight showed that any challenger to Shevchenko’s reign will need to come from inside the division, as the undersized Andrade’s take down attempts were repeatedly shrugged off by the champ. Valentina tossed Andrade around the same way an older brother would throw his sibling around during a living room wrestling match.
Where Valentina goes from here is anyone’s guess. She’s already cleared out most of the division, and the only other woman standing between her and GOAT status is Amanda Nunes whom she’s already lost to twice. Perhaps we see the champ take some time off to be with family while the rest of the fighters jockey for position within the weight class. For now though, Shevchenko looks as dominant a champion as we’ve seen in the UFC.
Which brings us to the much discussed Weili Zhang vs. Rose Namajunas fight which had fighters, media, and fans alike split on who would come out on top. Coming in as a two to one favourite, Zhang had yet to be so much as taken down in the UFC (100% takedown defense through her time in the octagon) let alone submitted or KO’d. Meanwhile, outside of being dropped on her head against Andrade, you’d have to go back to 2016 to find the last time Rose suffered a loss. Evidently something would have to give on Saturday night.
The bout began as most Zhang fights do with the fighters feeling each other out on the feet. Rose threw a bevy of leg and body kicks which is why at 1:18 in the first when she pivoted her hips to launch another kick, Zhang dropped her hands ever so slightly in anticipation of checking another shot directed at her ribs. Unfortunately for the champ, Rose landed a perfect blow to her head and dropped her cold. Rose landed a couple hammerfists to end the fight but it was over when her foot made contact.
A visibly upset Zhang stormed around the ring when she came to, however there were no doubts as to whether the fight should have been stopped. In typical Rose fashion, she showed no emotion all week, but as soon as UFC gold touched her waist, the emotions came pouring out.
With one belt changing hands, and a dominant performance from the champ in the other fight, what would the main event of the evening have in store for viewers? Last time Usman and Masvidal met, the fight went 5 rounds and was scored a unanimous decision for Kamaru. Jorge, to his credit, took the fight on short notice, and didn’t have the luxury of a full training camp when he last went up against the Nigerian Nightmare.
Masvidal blended in some Silva-esque head movements, and taunts in the early going, with both fighters jawing at one another after the horn in the first. It looked like more of the same to begin the 2nd when suddenly Usman, not known for his striking but definitely able to pack a punch, landed an absolute power shot on the button to drop Masvidal. Slo-mo replays will show just how devastating the shot was, and the bout was stopped in short order.
Two champs retained, and one belt changed hands to a former champion on Saturday night in a wild card highlighted by devastating injuries, and decisive knockouts throughout. While the action may not have lasted very long inside the ring, the key takeaway from last night was that there WAS action. No fight on the main card made it out of the 2nd round, and fighters were looking to score definitive victories as opposed to grinding out decisions via the judges scorecards. A thoroughly entertaining card at UFC 261.
UFC Fight Night: Reyes vs. Prochazka is Saturday May 1st
UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Dillashaw is Saturday May 8th
UFC 262: Oliveira vs. Chandler is Saturday May 15th
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @dynessports