MANILA, July 13 ------ It was a far cry from being exciting, but UFC welterweight world champion Kamaru Usman got the job done in successfully defending his title over fan favorite Jorge Masvidal in the main event of UFC 251 at Fight Island in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Masvidal opened the contest with leg kicks which allowed Usman to catch one of them and go for a takedown. The fan favorite looked sharp in the early going as he countered everything that Usman tried standing up and on the mat.
Usman came forward and wrestled in round two. An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on Masvidal's face as the champion pressed his challenger to the fence to tire him. Usman continued to come forward in round three as he tried to attempt to zap the air out of the lat replacement Masvidal with his clinch control. As Masvidal started to show signs of exhaustion, Usman stepped on the gas with his clinch to get ahead on the scorecards.
It was all Usman in round 4 as he continued to fight in the clinch. A visually tired Masvidal had little to offer in the fifth and final round as Usman fought in the clinch and score with foot stamps the entire fight. All five judges saw the fight for Usman, improving his record to 17-1 while Masvidal dropped to 35-14.
Source: gmanetwork.com/news/sports