On Friday, the UFC 261 weigh-ins took place, and all card fighters made the appropriate weights, including Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal.

Usman (18-1) vs Masvidal (35-14) is the main event for UFC 261, and passing the weigh-ins means the match is official and will happen. Usman weighed 169.5 pounds, and Masvidal hit the mark at 170 pounds.

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Usman is defending his UFC welterweight title against Masvidal in the main event of UFC 261 on Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida. The two fighters are familiar with one another as they previously faced off in UFC 251. Usman beat Masvidal via unanimous decision in that matchup last July.

Usman was originally scheduled to fight Gilbert Burns in UFC 251, but Burns tested positive for coronavirus, so Masvidal replaced Burns on six-day notice. This time, Masvidal has had enough time to prepare for the rematch.

Usman is currently on a 13-fight win streak and is looking for his 14th straight UFC victory and fourth title defense win. If Usman does win on Saturday, then the Nigerian would hold the second-place record for longest win streaks. The Nigerian fighter’s win streak is tied with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Jon Jones. Anderson Silva holds the record with 16 straight wins.

Masvidal is one of the most popular fighters on the UFC roster. The Florida native became one of the hottest fighters in 2019 with a three-fight win streak. In those three fights, he defeated Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz in a span of eight months to become one of the hottest MMA fighters. Unfortunately, the Florida native’s hot streak came to an end at the hands of Usman. This time, the Florida native will look to end the Nigerian fighter’s streak on Saturday.

UFC 261 will also feature two additional title defenses in the co-main event. Weili Zhang (21-1) will defend her women’s strawweight title against former champion Rose Namajunas (9-4). Zhang has not lost a fight since her debut loss. Namajunas has won four of her last five fights.

Valentina Shevchenko (20-3) will defend her flyweight title against Jessica Andrade (21-8).

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UFC is back in full swing, and it will start with UFC 261 in a full fan capacity setting. UFC president Dana White had vowed that the MMA promotion will not return to live crowds during the pandemic. White wanted there to be full fan capacity allowed for a live event in order for UFC to return.

White finally got his wish and UFC 261 will be held at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, on April 24. The event will have a full crowd meaning fans will be allowed at full capacity for the event.

UFC 261 main events will be the rematch of welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. The two had previously fought in UFC 251 and at that time it was Usman who came out with an easy victory. In that bout, Usman easily nullified Masvidal’s offense. Now Masvidal has a chance to try again and we’ll see if he has learned from his mistakes. Usman is currently the favorite to win.

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Women’s Strawweight Title: Weili Zhang (c) vs Rose Namajunas

The card will feature current Women’s Strawweight champion Zhang battle Namajunas for the title. Zhang is currently on a 21-win streak and is the favorite to win. Zhang effortlessly captured the title by beating Jessica Andrade in just 42 seconds to win the title. Zhang then won her first title defense in UFC 248 against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, which was decided in a split decision favor for Zhang.

Namajuanas is a former strawweight champion herself. She had won the title from Jedrzejczyk in 2017. Namajuanas will look to win back the title and will face her biggest challenge yet.

Women’s Flyweight Title: Valentina Shevchenko (c) vs Jessica Andrade

Defending champion Shevchenko will be the favorite to win this bout. The champion already has four dominant wins when defending her title. Yet, Andrade is no slouch herself as she is a former Strawweight champion.

UFC 261 Fight Card:

• Kamaru Usman (c) -400 vs. Jorge Masvidal +310, Welterweight Championship
• Weili Zhang (c) -195 vs. Rose Namajunas +165, Women’s Strawweight Championship
• Valentina Shevchenko (c) -400 vs. Jessica Andrade +310, Women’s Flyweight Championship
• Uriah Hall -110 vs. Chris Weidman -110, Middleweight
• Jimmy Crute -195 vs. Anthony Smith +165, Light Heavyweight
• Randy Brown vs. Alex Oliveira, Welterweight
• Brendan Allen -135 vs. Karl Roberson +115, Middleweight
• Danaa Batgerel -150 vs. Kevin Natividad +125, Bantamweight
• Qileng Aori -125 vs. Jeffrey Molina +105, Flyweight
• Jamey Simmons vs. Johnny Munoz, Bantamweights
• Rong Zhu -240 vs. Kazula Vargas +200, Lightweight
• Dwight Grant vs. Stefan Sekulic, Welterweight
• Ariane Carnelossi -150 vs. Na Liang +125, Women’s Strawweight

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UFC president Dana White was hoping to save the star-studded UFC 249 card from cancellation after the event was forced to be relocated from New York due to the spread of Coronavirus. White spoke to TMZ Sports on Monday saying he was a “day or two away” from acquiring a “private island” with the necessities to host UFC 249 and future fights amid social distancing obligations and the laws against large gatherings. The company was reportedly prepared for the April 18 event but executives at the UFC’s broadcasting partner company ESPN, and the parent company Disney, told White to “stand down.”

“While the organization was fully prepared to proceed with UFC 249, ESPN has requested the postponement of the event and subsequent bouts until further notice in light of the COVID-19 pandemic,” a UFC spokesperson said on Thursday. “UFC looks forward to resuming the full live events schedule as soon as possible.”

One of the event’s high-profile fighters Rose Namajunas had previously dropped out of her fight with Jessica Andrade after two of her family members died from coronavirus complications, her manager Brian Butler said,

“Namajunas withdrew from UFC 249 due to 2 deaths in the family related to the coronavirus,” Butler said in a statement. “Her hopes are to return to the Octagon as soon as possible but for now we ask for people to respect their privacy during this time.”

Before attempting to purchase an island, the UFC had chosen the Tachi Palace Casino Resort located near Fresno, California, for the site of UFC 249. The venue chosen was on tribal land which gave the company a loophole to bypass the California State Athletic Commission’s ban on combat fighting through May 31. But California Senator Dianne Feinstein expressed “concern” about the safety of everyone involved because they could still be susceptible to the virus.

“I’m concerned by reports that Ultimate Fighting Championship plans to hold a pay-per-view event in California, in defiance of the state’s shelter-in-place order,” Feinstein said in a statement. “This event would involve dozens of individuals flying to California and driving to a casino for a purpose no one can honestly claim is essential.

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“I understand this event is scheduled to take place on tribal land and therefore is not subject to state law. However, at best this event ties up medical resources and sends a message that shelter-in-place orders can be flouted. At worst, participants and support staff could carry the virus back to their home communities and increase its spread.”

Regardless of Feinstein’s concerns, White praised the resort’s owners for “standing with me through this thing.”

“The Tachi Palace in California, the Indian reservation, has had our back this whole time, has stood their ground and was willing to do this fight. And let me tell you this: When the world gets back to normal, California, that [fight] will be at Tachi Palace,” White said.

The event’s original main event was supposed to feature undefeated champion Khabib Nurmagomedov against No. 1 lightweight contender Tony Ferguson, but Nurmagomedov refused to leave quarantine in his native Russia and Justin Gaethje was slated to fill in to fight Ferguson.

Rose Namajunas got her shot to fight in a UFC main event on Thursday night and seized the opportunity by forcing Paige VanZant to tap out in the fifth round.

“Thug Rose” took control of the match early in the first round. Not only did she score a quick take down, but she opened a cut on VanZant’s cheek that would bother her throughout the match.

Namajunas continued the attack, but VanZant hung tough. While each round was largely a repeat of the first, the bout continued into the fifth stanza before finally reaching its climax.

“I thought there would be armbars all day, but I saw pictures, I knew her arms were kind of gummy, so I knew not to get frustrated if I didn’t get the tap out right away,” said Namajunas

But she finally wrapped things up with a rear-naked choke that forced VanZant to submit. The tap out came at 2:25 of the final round.

“I feel great, I don’t know what else to say,” Namajunas said after the match. “I just want to pet my dog right now.”

Image: Rose Namajunas via Twitter