UFC 261
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''UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2'' was a
mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
event produced by the
Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...
that took place on April 24, 2021 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in
Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
, United States.


Background

The promotion had initially planned to hold the event in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
. However, negotiations with the Singaporean government fizzled amongst COVID-19 protocols and the promotion initially turned to their home base of Las Vegas. On March 15, UFC president
Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...
announced the event would be moved to
Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
, 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 Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
in January with a limited number of fans). Jacksonville also hosted the UFC's first fights back after the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
in May 2020, before the organization started hosting events in either Las Vegas or Abu Dhabi. A
UFC Welterweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight clas ...
rematch between the current champion
Kamaru Usman Kamarudeen Usman (born May 11, 1987) is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler, and graduated folkstyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championsh ...
(also The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians welterweight winner) and Jorge Masvidal headlined the event. They previously met at UFC 251, where Usman defended his title via unanimous decision. 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. A UFC Women's Flyweight Championship bout between current champion
Valentina Shevchenko Valentina Anatolyevna Shevchenko (born March 7, 1988) is a Kyrgyz professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, former Muay Thai fighter and Kickboxing, kickboxer. She currently competes in the women's Flyweight (MMA), Flyweight divisi ...
and former strawweight champion Jéssica Andrade completed the triad of title fights. A middleweight rematch between former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman and
Uriah Hall Uriah Alexander Hall (born July 31, 1984) is a Jamaican-American former professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Kickboxing, kickboxer, and current Professional boxing, boxer. He competed in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight divi ...
was expected to take place at UFC 258 in February. They met previously in September 2010 at a Ring of Combat event for the organization's middleweight title, with Weidman winning via TKO. 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. Johnny Walker was expected to face Jimmy Crute in a light heavyweight bout. However, Walker pulled out due to an injury and was replaced by former
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight clas ...
challenger Anthony Smith. 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. They eventually fought each other at this event. A bantamweight bout between Mark Striegl and Johnny Muñoz was expected to take place at the event. However, Striegl was removed from the bout on March 24 due to undisclosed reasons and replaced by Jamey Simmons. 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.


Results


Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. *Fight of the Night: Jeff Molina vs. Aori Qileng *Performance of the Night: Kamaru Usman and Rose Namajunas


See also

*
List of UFC events List of UFC events is a list of events held and scheduled by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. UFC's first event, UFC 1, took place on November 12, 1993. Each UFC event contains ...
*
List of current UFC fighters This list of current UFC fighters records current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters' information, country origins, recent fighter signings and departures, fight schedules and results and the champion of each division. , the UFC roster c ...
* 2021 in UFC


References

{{2021 in mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events 2021 in mixed martial arts April 2021 sports events in the United States 2021 in sports in Florida Mixed martial arts events in Florida Sports competitions in Jacksonville, Florida 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida