Scores were 30-27 across the board for the 24-year-old Hawaiian. 4-ranked featherweight contender Max Holloway continued to make his case for a world title shot at The Forum in Inglewood, California on Saturday night, winning his ninth consecutive bout by taking a shutout three-round decision over Ricardo Lamas. She caught me a couple of times, but I just stayed strong.No. Then I think she hit the desperation button and started really unloading. Early on in the fight, I was doing great. “I was just in the right state of mind,” Namajunas said. Andrade rallied in the third and badly damaged Namajunas' nose and left eye, but Namajunas won 29-28 on two judges' scorecards. 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. 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. 'That was our plan, to get him tired early on, and then in the third round, start attacking.”Īldo 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. “I expected it to be a hard fight,” Yan said through an interpreter. 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. Yan weathered an inspired start by Aldo, and eventually established his dominance with superior striking. 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. 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. 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. 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. We’re both hard workers, but I got the job done.” I couldn’t use the kicks as much as I liked. “He stood there and didn’t really take a backward step. “It was a tough fight,” Volkanovski said. 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. 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. Some fans might have booed Usman's strategy, but there were no fans inside the temporary arena. Two judges scored it 50-45 for Usman, and a third had it 49-46. But while Masvidal's wind faded, Usman coolly took charge with wrestling takedowns, foot stomps and judicious strikes mixed with superior conditioning. Masvidal was eager for a knockout, and the former backyard brawler came out swinging in an exciting first round.

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 switch gears and prepare for him on six days’ notice. “(Masvidal) is the biggest, baddest dude out there right now,” Usman said. 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. Kamaru Usman retained his welterweight title with a smothering victory over short-notice challenger Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 on Sunday.Īlexander 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 José Aldo on Yas Island, the UAE tourist destination turned into a secure bubble by the UFC during the coronavius pandemic.įormer strawweight champion Rose Namajunas avenged her loss to Jéssica 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.

Max holloway muhammad ali