Kamaru Usman, Nigerian-American mixed martial arts (MMA) champion, will headline UFC’s 261st fight night set for Jacksonville Florida in the USA.
UFC 261 has been scheduled for 24 April and has three title fights, with the Nigerian Nightmare’s rematch against Jorge Masvidal for his welterweight title the biggest event of the night.
UFC President, Dana Whyte made the announcement on Tuesday in a video posted on the mixed martial arts body’s website, while the Mayor of Jacksonville Lenny Curry also gave a seal of approval for the event on Twitter.
“Dana White, governor Ron DeSantis and I will continue to demonstrate that Florida is poised to safely host signature sporting events watched globally. Welcome back to Jacksonville UFC. Let’s go,” Curry stated.
The event would also make UFC the first American sports organisation to host a full crowd since the start of COVID-19.
The event to be staged at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena which holds 15,000 people will be UFC’s first capacity-crowd event in 13 months.
Valentina Shevchenko takes on Jessica Andrade will also slug it out to become the Women’s flyweight champion, while strawweight champion Zhang Weili faces Rose Namajunas.
Usman claimed a unanimous decision win over Masvidal last July in one of the biggest fights of 2020 at UFC’s Fight Island in Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island.
He then successfully defended his welterweight belt a third time last month, defeating Gilbert Burns via technical knockout in the third round to set the record for the longest winning streak in the division with thirteen victories.
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