UFC 261: USMAN vs MASVIDAL II

Jesse Petruzzelli
Apr 21, 2021
3 min read

Updated: Apr 26, 2021

Almost one year ago the UFC had a unique vision to move the sport away from the Covid-19 pandemic and isolate themselves on Yas Island located in Abu Dhabi. The UFC's new temporary home was deemed "Fight Island". Dana White had a star-studded Main Card that featured three title fights, but the headliner was Kamaru Usman against Gilbert Burns. Despite Dana White's best efforts to avoid the pandemic, Gilbert ended up testing positive for Covid-19 six days before the event was supposed to take place. The irony of Gilbert's positive test was a major problem for the UFC and certainly not what Dana White had envisioned. With the Main Event in jeopardy the UFC had a problem. Who would be willing to fight Kamaru Usman on less than a weeks notice, and also on a small island located in the middle of nowhere? Enter in Jorge "Gamebred" Masvidal. With Usman and Masvidal running it back, does Vegas see any actual stock in Masvidal having a full training camp this time around?

MONEYLINE:

Kamaru Usman -410 Jorge Masvidal +330

TO GO THE DISTANCE:

Yes -165

No +125 From the second the final horn went off in the fifth round of Usman's and Masvidal's first match-up they both agreed to run-it-back. Masvidal immediately reminded Kamaru that he was able to go the distance with him on six days notice, and if he gave him a full camp he would be able to dethrone the champ. Do I believe Masvidal? Honestly if you re-watch the first fight it was very one-sided. Kamaru kept closing the distance and completely neutralized Masvidal. We also saw vastly improved striking from Usman in his last fight and I believe he will mix in more boxing in this second match-up, but I believe ultimately he will look to utilize his wrestling. So with the rematch set to finally settle the score, how do I see this fight playing out?

MONEYLINE: Masvidal +330 With all the signs pointing in Usman's favor is this the time we finally see a new Champion at Welterweight? With odds of -410 on Kamaru they are too steep to have a good net return on, so either bet lightly on Masvidal for a large payout, or sit this one out and enjoy the fight! Also if Jorge is to pull off the upset he will more than likely win by KO/TKO. So sprinkling some money on the fights props you can get odds of over +500.

TO GO THE DISTANCE: No +125 In Kamaru's last match-up where he dominated Gilbert Burns we did see the Champ have to scramble after taking a massive bomb early in the first round. If Kamaru gets caught up in a wild exchange with Jorge we may see the current champ on his back. If Masvidal is unable to finish Usman we also know that Kamaru has sworn that this time around he will finish Jorge. With either one of them leading to a winner this is the line I will be laying down on for this fight.