UFC 261

UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 24, 2021 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States.^[3][4]

UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2
The poster for UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	April 24, 2021 (2021-04-24)
Venue	VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
City	Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Attendance	15,269[1]
Total gate	$3,300,000[1]
Buyrate	700,000[2]
Event chronology
UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2 UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Procházka

Background

The promotion had initially planned to hold the event in Singapore. However, negotiations with the Singaporean government fizzled amongst COVID-19 protocols and the promotion initially turned to their home base of Las Vegas.^[3] On March 15, UFC president Dana White announced the event would be moved to Jacksonville, Florida, with a full capacity of "15,000 UFC fans", marking the first time since UFC 248 in March 2020 that a full capacity crowd would be available (the UFC hosted a trio of events in Abu Dhabi in January with a limited number of fans).^[4] Jacksonville also hosted the UFC's first fights back after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, before the organization started hosting events in either Las Vegas or Abu Dhabi.^[4]

A UFC Welterweight Championship rematch between the current champion Kamaru Usman (also The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians welterweight winner) and Jorge Masvidal headlined the event.^[4] They previously met at UFC 251, where Usman defended his title via unanimous decision.^[5]

A UFC Women's Strawweight Championship bout between the current champion Zhang Weili and former champion Rose Namajunas took place as the co-main event.^[6][7]

A UFC Women's Flyweight Championship bout between current champion Valentina Shevchenko and former strawweight champion Jéssica Andrade completed the triad of title fights.^[8]

A middleweight rematch between former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman and Uriah Hall was expected to take place at UFC 258 in February.^[9] They met previously in September 2010 at a Ring of Combat event for the organization's middleweight title, with Weidman winning via TKO.^[10] However, Weidman was pulled from that event in late-January due to a positive COVID-19 test. The pairing remained intact and eventually took place at this event.^[11][12]

Johnny Walker was expected to face Jimmy Crute in a light heavyweight bout.^[13] However, Walker pulled out due to an injury and was replaced by former UFC Light Heavyweight Championship challenger Anthony Smith.^[14]

Randy Brown and Alex Oliveira were expected to meet in a welterweight bout at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gane, but Brown pulled out due to undisclosed reasons.^[15] They eventually fought each other at this event.^[16]

A bantamweight bout between Mark Striegl and Johnny Muñoz was expected to take place at the event.^[17] However, Striegl was removed from the bout on March 24 due to undisclosed reasons and replaced by Jamey Simmons.^[18] In turn, Simmons also pulled out on April 8 for undisclosed reasons. As a result, Muñoz was removed from the card as well and will be rescheduled for a future event.^[19]

Results

Main card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Welterweight	Kamaru Usman (c)	def.	Jorge Masvidal	KO (punch)	2	1:02	[a]
Women’s Strawweight	Rose Namajunas	def.	Zhang Weili (c)	KO (head kick)	1	1:18	[b]
Women’s Flyweight	Valentina Shevchenko (c)	def.	Jéssica Andrade	TKO (elbows)	2	3:19	[c]
Middleweight	Uriah Hall	def.	Chris Weidman	TKO (leg injury)	1	0:17
Light Heavyweight	Anthony Smith	def.	Jimmy Crute	TKO (doctor stoppage)	1	5:00
Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Welterweight	Randy Brown	def.	Alex Oliveira	Submission (rear-naked choke)	1	2:50
Welterweight	Dwight Grant	def.	Stefan Sekulić	Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Brendan Allen	def.	Karl Roberson	Submission (ankle lock)	1	4:55
Featherweight	Pat Sabatini	def.	Tristan Connelly	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Early preliminary card (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bantamweight	Danaa Batgerel	def.	Kevin Natividad	TKO (punches)	1	0:50
Lightweight	Kazula Vargas	def.	Rong Zhu	Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Flyweight	Jeff Molina	def.	Aori Qileng	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–27)	3	5:00
Women’s Strawweight	Ariane Carnelossi	def.	Na Liang	TKO (punches)	2	1:28

1. For the UFC Welterweight Championship.
2. For the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship.
3. For the UFC Women's Flyweight Championship.

^[20]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.^[21]

• Fight of the Night: Jeff Molina vs. Aori Qileng
• Performance of the Night: Kamaru Usman and Rose Namajunas

See also

• Martial Arts portal

• List of UFC events
• List of current UFC fighters
• 2021 in UFC