Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal headline a stacked card at UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday as the sport holds its first event in front of a crowd with no capacity limit.
Usman will look to defend his UFC welterweight title in the rematch against Masvidal, whom he defeated by unanimous decision at UFC 251 last year.
For once, however, the bout could be overshadowed by the size of the crowd, which is set to command the lion's share of attention. Almost exactly a year on since shutting its doors because of the coronavirus pandemic, UFC 261 will be the first event hosted in front of a crowd with no capacity limit since UFC 248 in March last year.
"I have been waiting a year for this day to tell you: 'We're back'," UFC president Dana White said in a video announcing the event last month.
UFC 261 dates and times
UFC 261 is scheduled for Saturday, April 24. The early preliminary fights begin at 5:45 p.m. ET, while the preliminary bouts are scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET. The pay-per-view main card will start at 10 p.m. ET, with Usman and Masvidal expected in the Octagon at approximately 12:15 a.m. ET.
As ever, the times are only an indication and will depend on the length of the earlier fights.
Where is UFC 261?
UFC 261 will take place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
It will be the first event hosted in front of a crowd with no capacity limit since UFC 248 on March 7 last year at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
As the COVID-19 outbreak paused sports across the world, UFC was forced to cancel several events and those that went ahead did so behind closed doors.
How to watch UFC 261
UFC 261 is available exclusively on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, the broadcaster's Spanish channel, and ESPN+.
While the preliminary fights are available on ESPN and the WatchESPN app, the main card will be broadcast exclusive on ESPN+ as pay-per-view.
The prices differ slightly for ESPN+ subscribers and non-subscribers. The former will have to fork out $69.99 to watch the fight, while the latter can purchase a bundle which includes UFC 261 and an annual subscription to ESPN+ for $89.99.
The early preliminaries will also be available on UFC Fight Pass.
UFC 261 fight card
Aside from the rematch between Masvidal and Usman, the main card features other two title fights. Women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will look to defend her title against former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade, while reigning women's strawweight champion will fight Rose Namajunas.
The main card is completed by middleweight Uriah Hall taking on Chris Weidman and Anthony Smith facing Jimmy Crute at light heavyweight.
Main card
- Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal—Usman is the reigning UFC welterweight championship
- Zhang Weili vs. Rose Namajunas—Zhang is the reigning UFC women's strawweight champion
- Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Andrade—Shevchenko is the reigning UFC women's flyweight champion
- Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman (middleweight)
- Anthony Smith vs. Jimmy Crute (light heavyweight)
Prelims
- Alex Oliveira vs. Randy Brown (welterweight)
- Dwight Grant vs. Stefan Sekulic (welterweight)
- Karl Roberson vs. Brendan Allen (middleweight)
- Patrick Sabatini vs. Tristan Connelly (featherweight)
Early prelims
- Danaa Batgerel vs. Kevin Natividad (bantamweight)
- Kazula Vargas vs. Rong Zhu (lightweight)
- Qileng Aori vs. Jeffrey Molina (flyweight)
- Na Liang vs. Ariane Carnelossi (women's strawweight)
- Jamey Simmons vs. Johnny Muñoz (bantamweight)
UFC 261 odds
According to FanDuel, Usman is a 1-4 favourite, while Masvidal enters the fight as a 3-1 underdog and the draw is at 50-1.
Usman defeated Masvidal by unanimous decision at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi last July and improved his career record to 18-1 last month, defeating Gilbert Burns by TKO in the third round to extend his streak of consecutive wins to 13—a UFC welterweight record.
Masvidal, meanwhile, has a 35-14 career record which features wins over Ben Askren, Donald Cerrone, Nate Diaz and Darren Till.
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