Five biggest takeaways from UFC 251, including the polarization of Kamaru Usman (2024)

With three title fights and storylines galore, there was no shortage of topics to digest following the UFC’s debut foray to Fight Island. These are my five biggest takeaways from UFC 251.

1. The polarization of the Usman era

Baptisms and bloodshed are fun. Street justice and brazen threats of violence are what sell tickets. But there’s a reason Kamaru Usman was always earmarked by the oddsmakers as a heavy favorite to defeat Jorge Masvidal, even before their fight was of the short-notice variety. From the moment Usman vs. Masvidal became a possibility, well before Gilbert Burns even entered the welterweight title picture, the ruminations within the MMA community seemed to be unanimous — either Masvidal is going to catch Usman with something fierce, or we’re in for a 25-minute slow burn. Five rounds of takedowns, ample point fighting and endless clinching against the cage. The phrase “styles make fights” is a cliche for a reason. This was always the path to an Usman victory, and it seemed as if we all knew it.

So was the outrage over Usman’s anticlimactic strategy that led to a one-sided decision over Masvidal surprising? No. But it was a prime example of how polarizing of a figure Usman has become.

If you only followed UFC 251 on social media Saturday night, there’s a good chance most of what you would’ve seen were complaints that Usman is a boring fighter. It’s one of those things that isn’t exactly true, but it isn’t entirely untrue either. Just look at Usman’s last fight before this — his drama-filled knockout win over Colby Covington at UFC 245. It was one of the best fights of 2019. Hell, even his Tyron Woodley and Rafael dos Anjos bouts before that were highly intriguing.

And therein lies the rub: Usman isn’t a boring fighter per se, but he can — and gladly will — be if he knows that’s his best path to victory. If that sounds familiar to you, you’re not alone. We tend to see these sort of things through rose-tinted nostalgia glasses, but I’ve been around long enough to hear similar arguments being thrown around about beloved figures like Georges St-Pierre and Randy Couture after some of their most important bouts.

Usman is exciting as long as his opponent is able to negate his most boring inclinations. Covington’s wrestling and pressure was able to do that, and thus magic unfolded. Masvidal wasn’t, so we got five rounds of foot-stomps and cage clinching. It happens. Not every fight can be an instant classic. But what’s getting lost in all of this is just how unprecedented Usman’s run is becoming. Because prior to Saturday night, only two fighters in history had begun their UFC careers with perfect 12-0 octagon records: Anderson Silva and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Now go ahead and add Usman to that list as well.

Not bad company to keep, eh? We simply don’t see numbers like this, and that’s worth recognizing.

Masvidal’s star will still burn bright. He’s already elevated himself to that special place few reach where wins and losses don’t really matter. Realistically, his popularity will always keep him in close proximity to the belt, and the timing feels like it may finally be right for the Nate Diaz rematch, which would be fun.

The UFC’s next welterweight title fight will likely be of the more exciting variety, as well. Stylistically, Gilbert Burns is a much more challenging fight for Usman. No welterweight on the planet is more intimately familiar with the nuances of the champ’s game than Burns, and no welterweight on the planet will be more prepared to counter the grind the champ brings into the cage than Burns. In the meanwhile though, much like Woodley and even St-Pierre before him, the polarization of Usman’s reign isn’t showing any signs of slowing. What is it about this division?

2. Welcome to the Benavidez Zone

Let’s be clear upfront, UFC 251’s co-main event wasn’t a robbery. It was a close fight. There’s a difference, but we’ve already gone down that road a thousand times before, so let’s leave it at that.

Personally, I scored it 48-47 Holloway. “Blessed” won the two most lopsided rounds. He dropped Volkanovski twice. If this was the old Pride FC days, he would’ve left Abu Dhabi with the belt once again wrapped around his waist. But rounds three through five? Total toss-ups.

Volkanovski made the necessary adjustments, scored a few meaningless takedowns and actually out-landed Holloway by a sizable margin in total strikes in each of the final three rounds. Any score in the range between 48-47 Volkanovski and 49-46 Holloway is justified. If you’re upset, blame the antiquated scoring system we have in MMA, the one that was never truly designed for the nuances of our sport. Ultimately, two judges saw it for the champion so that’s where we’re at. There’s no going backward.

My biggest quibble, though, is that this was always the danger of booking this immediate rematch. Suddenly we’re waking up on Sunday morning only to find one of the greatest featherweights of all-time stuck in no man’s land. Holloway is clearly a top-two fighter in the division, yet because of his 0-2 record against Volkanovski, there’s no viable path back to the title for him as long as the Australian holds the belt. It’s a maddening position. Holloway is still only 28 years old. He still has his best years ahead of him. And now he’s stuck in the same spot Joseph Benavidez infamously languished in for a half-decade.

Do we want to live in a world where Holloway is forced to spend the rest of his prime fending off up-and-comers until his win streak is either undeniable or Volkanovski loses the belt? I don’t. But that’s the cold reality we now face.

There’s certainly a time and place for immediate rematches, but this one always felt off. And now the featherweight division is forced to figure out what to do with one of history’s most stupidly overqualified gatekeepers. This sucks.

3. Bad stoppages and broken records

First, the elephant in the room. The stoppage by referee Leon Roberts in the Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo fight? It was disgusting. To call it late would be like calling the weather in Abu Dhabi a tad hot. Sure, it’s technically correct, I guess, but it’s still totally underselling the matter at hand. Aldo pretty much stopped defending himself after he got stuck in a crucifix a minute into the fifth round. The fight ended more than two minutes later. Within that length of time, Aldo ate an untold number of unanswered strikes. That’s the type of beating that takes something away from an athlete forever. Aldo has now suffered three of these same types of losses in the last four years, and the sad part is this one was completely unnecessary. Again, just inexcusable refereeing by Roberts.

But now let’s celebrate the new champion, because Yan made history Saturday night. His 194 significant strikes marked a new single-fight UFC/WEC bantamweight record, and somehow it only felt like the beginning of his story. The 27-year-old Russian has been an unshakeable force in the UFC. Every fight has seemingly been more impressive than the last. There were legitimate questions to ask of Yan about his résumé heading into UFC 251, with his best win coming over a 40-year-old well-past-his-prime Urijah Faber. Even a diminished version of Aldo was still the best fighter Yan had faced — yet he impressed, and even overcame adversity in the process.

The first three rounds between the bantamweights were both competitive and fascinating, a technician’s brawl contested at a breakneck pace. But then the fight turned in the championship rounds, and by the end, it was a legitimate rout. Yan overwhelmed Aldo just as the Brazilian legend did to so many others of a past era. Yet while it may feel like time to announce the bantamweight division as Yan’s to own, there’s still one challenge left to conquer before we reach that point.

Aljamain Sterling awaits. Sterling’s recent victory over Cory Sandhagen was one of the most stunning displays of high-level grappling in 2020. Before we can proclaim the start of the Petr Yan era, “The Funkmaster” still needs to get his say.

And I cannot wait.

4. The reinvigoration of Thug Rose

No one really knew what to expect from Rose Namajunas after 14 months away. At her best, the former strawweight champion is one of the sport’s most enthralling figures; a living, breathing flow state who is capable of sublime and often stunning brilliance inside the cage. Yet she is also wholly unique as a human being, an introspective athlete who often lets us in on the battles forever raging inside her own head. After suffering the worst loss of her career then tragically losing multiple family members to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was fair to wonder what version of Namajunas would show up to UFC 251.

Safe to say, though, “Thug Rose” is back.

Despite a harrowing third round against an opponent in Jessica Andrade who obviously spent the past year working on her defensive deficiencies, Namajunas looked every bit her old self on Saturday. She was sharp. She was creative. She was poised. And she proved all over again that she’s one of the most polished strikers the women’s side of the game has ever seen. The story between her and Andrade isn’t over. With their series tied at one apiece, and Andrade appearing as if she likely would’ve won at UFC 251 if the rematch had been contested for five rounds, there’s no doubt that a rubber match between these two women is an inevitability sometime down the line.

But not right now.

If the UFC doesn’t want to run things back between strawweight champion Zhang Weili and Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Namajunas deserves to be next for the title. Without question. And if the thought of a Zhang-Namajunas striking chess match doesn’t get you excited, well, I’m afraid we simply can’t be friends, because your tastes can’t be trusted.

5. All aboard the hype trains

Hop on now, folks, because space is limited and these tickets are going to sell out fast.

No doubt, there were two standout stars of Saturday’s lower card: Amanda Ribas, the bubbly uber-prospect who shattered Paige VanZant’s big-money free agency with a quickness, and Jiri Prochazka, the hardcore’s darling who razzle-dazzled his way into the MMA community’s hearts with an outrageous performance over Volkan Oezdemir. It’s always fun to see relative unknowns take the leap into bonafide intrigues in real-time.

On Saturday night, we saw it happen in back-to-back fights.

Ribas has all the makings of a future star. With her 4-0 UFC record that already counts victories over VanZant and Mackenzie Dern, plus an infectious personality that might just be the most endearing thing this writer has ever seen — seriously, how fantastic was that post-fight interview? — the 26-year-old Brazilian has all of the ingredients the UFC loves.

And so does Prochazka, for that matter. After long thriving as a hardcore’s delight, his was the type of octagon debut that can triple a fighter’s fanbase overnight. He’s a striker. He’s a showman. He speaks excellent English, and he’s legitimately talented to boot. His style is unorthodox enough to befuddle foes and engaging enough to draw in fans and non-fans alike. If that was your first time watching the Czech light heavyweight, you probably already understand why the late-night crazies who religiously ruin their sleep schedules to catch Rizin events have been singing his praises so loudly for years.

All aboard, y’all, the trains are about to leave the station. Choo! Choo!

(Top photo: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)