Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns have faced each other hundreds of times in practice. They will do it for real on Saturday.
Usman will defend his UFC title against welterweight against Burns, his former wrestling partner, at the main event of UFC 258 in Las Vegas.
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“I know a lot about Kamaru,” Burns told ESPN. “I know exactly how he wants to fight. I know a lot about him. On the other hand, he knows a lot about me too. It’s different. I don’t care. It’s what it is. We’ll get out there, I’ll try to take him down or to subdue him. “
Usman and Burns had trained together in South Florida since 2012, first with the Blackzilians, then with HKickboxing, and finally with Sanford MMA. Usman left for Colorado to train under coach Trevor Wittman last year after the initial fight with Burns was scheduled for July. But Burns tested positive for COVID-19 and withdrew from that fight.
While Wittman will hit Usman, Burns will miss the long-time coach, Henri Hooft, who decided to remove him because he also coached Usman before changing the gym.
Usman, originally from Nigeria, is 12-0 in the UFC – with a victory less than Georges St-Pierre’s record, 13 consecutive UFC welterweight victories. Usman, 33, will win a unanimous decision against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 in July last year.
Burns (19-3) won six in a row, with Woodley winning the most recent unanimous decision in May last year. The Brazilian native has been 4-0 since moving to welterweight in 2019. Burns, 34, is a several-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion with power in his hands. He is trying to become the first Brazilian to win the UFC welterweight title.
In the main event, Maycee Barber and Alexa Grasso will meet in a promising battle for women with flying weight. Barber, 22 years old (8-1), is trying to recover from the first loss in his career, as well as from the ACL operation. Grasso (12-3), a 27-year-old Mexican striker, is trying to collect the first series of UFC victories.
Also on the card below, former middle-aged contestant Kelvin Gastelum is trying to make a series of losses against Ian Heinisch, and the dominant star of Brazilian jiu-jits Rodolfo Vieira is trying to remain undefeated in MMA against Anthony Hernandez.
Fight in progress:
Straw weight: Polyana Viana (11-4, 2-3 UFC, +125) vs. Mallory Martin (7-3, 1-1 UFC, -150)
Results:
Catchweight (£ 140): Chris Gutierrez (16-3-2, 4-1-1 UFC) defeats Andre Ewell (17-7, 4-3 UFC) by unanimous decision
Recapitulate to come.
Welterweight: Gabe Green (10-3, 1-1 UFC) defeats Phil Rowe (7-3, 0-1 UFC) by unanimous decision
Green got a few big kicks along the way, but his lower leg kicks got hit, did damage, and secured his first UFC victory.
When the fight was challenged at a distance, Rowe higher used his stretch to distinguish Green. And when the fight went on canvas, Rowe also showed an edge of jiu-jitsu that put him in dominant positions on the canvas, close to creating obedience. But Green left him twice in the second round and once again at the beginning of round 3, all with calf blows. This influenced the judges in a close fight.
Gifted 🙏@GiftedGabeGreen gets his first UFC win to open # UFC258. pic.twitter.com/xgKTfpk01k
– UFC (@ufc) February 14, 2021
For Green, a 27-year-old from Downey, California, victory brought him back on track. He lost his UFC debut in May last year, ending a six-game winning streak.
Tonight, Rowe was whose series ended. The 30-year-old from Palm Coast, Florida, who was making his UFC debut, has entered a seven-fight winning streak dating back to his third professional fight.
Two judges scored the fight 29-28 for Green, and the third had 30-27.
– Wagenheim
Watch this on ESPN +.
He is coming; are being delivered:
Welterweight: Kamaru Usman (c) (17-1, 12-0 UFC, -270) vs. Gilbert Burns (19-3, 12-3 UFC, +220)
Women’s Bite Weight: Maycee Barber (8-1, 3-1 UFC, +105) vs. Alexa Grasso (12-3, 4-3 UFC, -125)
Average weight: Kelvin Gastelum (16-6 1 NC, 10-6 1 NC UFC, -220) vs. Ian Heinisch (14-3, 3-2 UFC, +180)
Men’s featherweight: Ricky Simon (17-3, 5-2 UFC, -240) vs. Brian Kelleher (22-11, 6-4 UFC, +200)
Average weight: Maki Pitolo (13-7, 1-3 UFC, +145) vs. Julian Marquez (7-2, 1-1 UFC, -170)
Average weight: Rodolfo Vieira (7-0, 2-0 UFC, -400) vs. Anthony Hernandez (7-2 1 NC, 1-2 1 NC UFC, +310)
Welterweight: Belal Muhammad (17-3, 8-3 UFC, -490) vs. Dhiego Lima (17-7, 4-5 UFC, +370)
(c) = defending champion