Kamaru Usman scored one of his greatest wins in a bitter rematch against the ever-game Jorge Masvidal.
Unfortunately, Kamaru Usman‘s career is heading in a downward trajectory, as ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is currently riding a three-fight losing streak, with his last loss coming to Khamzat Chimaev in 2023.
Prior to that, Usman suffered back-to-back losses to Leon Edwards, one of which being the infamous headkick knockout, which was Usman’s first KO loss ever.
Having not fought since 2023, fans have been left wondering what is next for the former welterweight champion, with him seemingly eyeing up a fight against Sean Brady next.
The 37-year-old will be hopeful that he can have a career resurgence and put on another performance like he did against Jorge Masvidal on April 24, 2021.
Kamaru Usman folded Jorge Masvidal with crushing knockout blow
Usman and ‘Gamebred’ first met in July 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and their meeting at UFC 251 was the first to take place on Fight Island.
UFC 251 turned out to be the ninth-highest earning PPV event in UFC history, ranking above Conor McGregor vs Jose Aldo, despite the main event fight being relatively dull due to Masvidal stepping in on short notice.
As Masvidal stepped in on just over a week’s notice, the UFC afforded him a rematch just under a year later, this time in front of a packed arena at UFC 261.
Both fighters started out the rematch relatively hesitant as they both attempted to avoid each other’s big shots. Midway through the round, though, Usman landed a big takedown and controlled most of the rest of the round on the ground, landing some big shots.
A minute into round two, Usman landed one of the biggest right hands ever seen, landing flush on the chin of the challenger, resulting in one of the craziest knockouts of all time.
Jorge Masvidal is looking for a UFC comeback
Following back-to-back losses to Usman, Masvidal went on to lose two more fights in a row, subsequently leaving the UFC on a four-fight losing streak.
Since then, the 40-year-old has teased a potential comeback to the promotion, stating that he would like to make his return.
Following UFC London last month, Masvidal highlighted a fight against Leon Edwards as a perfect comeback fight, as they have a rivalry dating back to 2019 when Masvidal punched Edwards backstage at UFC London.