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Jorge Masvidal fought the UFC Welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, in the main event of UFC 251. Masvidal took the fight on short notice and the same can be said for Usman. The outcome of the fight was not surprising. But, certain implications can be made from the performances of Masvidal and Usman.
Jorge Masvidal was the superior striker. He showed some excellent takedown defense. However, he gassed out after the early rounds and that brought down his striking output significantly. Though he was not outclassed by Kamaru Usman on the ground, The Nigerian Nightmare seemed the more skilled guy on the ground.
Now what implications can be made from Usman's performance at UFC 251. Did he put another dominating performance or did Masvidal expose some holes in the Champion's game?
Can Kamaru Usman be beaten?
Kamaru Usman is arguably one of the greatest athletes in UFC at the moment. His dominance on the ground and in the clinch is very hard to deal with.
However, some might argue that Usman did not seem as dominant as expected against Masvidal. As good as Masvidal is in the striking department, he struggles against good wrestlers or grapplers. Now, Gambred is good at wrestling and grappling, but he is not as good as Kamaru Usman.
Yet, Masvidal was able to defend the takedowns of Usman effortlessly in the early rounds. It won't be wrong to say that his technique seemed better than Usman's in some positions. But once Masvidal was exhausted, Usman just cruised his way to the victory.
It won't be right to claim that with a full training camp Masvidal would have defended all the takedown attempts of Usman. But, The Nigerian Nightmare did not seem as dominant as he was in the fight against Tyron Woodley.
It has to be considered that Kamaru Usman accepted the Masvidal fight on short notice too. However, it was expected that the UFC Welterweight Champion will anhilate Masvidal on the ground. And that was not the case.
His striking did not look good against Masvidal compared to his striking in Covington's fight. He was overcommitting on many occasions and missed quite a few in the striking exchanges. Masvidal clearly won the striking exchanges, but Usman won the fight on the ground and in the clinch.
It would be a far fetched statement to say that Kamaru Usman is not the greatest welterweight right now in UFC. But, he did not look unbeatable in his fight against Masvidal. And this opens up the discussion for the fight against Gilbert Burns, who is phenomenal on the ground and who can hurt you in the striking.
Usman has a great strength advantage over his opponents and that won't be the case if he fights Gilbert Burns. It would be intriguing to see whether Usman can dominate Burns on the ground.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and doesn't necessarily represent Sportskeeda's stand.
