Watch out for a stacked event in the Middle East, with two title fights on the main card of UFC 251 on July 11. Headlining the event is a welterweight title bout between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns. Before that, Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway will meet for the second time in a featherweight championship showdown. Read on for more about those two fights and others on the main card of UFC 251.
Usman has yet to be beaten in the UFC, and he has no plans of changing that narrative, as he defends his welterweight belt again. After stripping Tyron Woodley of the belt in March 2019, Usman successfully defended his title for the first time with a TKO win over Colby Covington in December 2019. Gilbert (19-3-0) also defeated Woodley in his most recent fight, scoring a unanimous decision against “The Chosen One” last May. Gilbert is 6-0 in his last six fights.
Writer’s prediction:
Usman wins via decision.
Alexander Volkanovski (-190) vs. Max Holloway (+155)
Featherweight
Volkanovski (21-1-0) was the one who snapped Holloway’s 13-fight win streak in the featherweight division, defeating “Blessed” via unanimous decision back in December to take ownership of the featherweight belt. Volkanovski is on an 18-fight unbeaten streak, with his most recent loss a TKO setback in 2013 at the hands of Corey Nelson. After going up to lightweight and failing to get a win against Dustin Poirier in April 2019, Holloway (21-5-0) returned to the featherweight division and scored a unanimous decision against Frankie Edgar before losing to Volkanovski.
Aldo is not yet done. He’ll make another attempt to move closer to another title bout by taking on the favored Yan in the Middle East. Aldo (28-6-0) is a former featherweight champion, who’s now set to fight in just his second bout in the bantamweight division. He dropped his initial fight in the division against Marlon Moraes via split decision last December. Aldo will enjoy a three-inch advantage against Yan. Meanwhile, Yan (14-1-0) has won all his past nine fights, including six in the UFC. He defeated a legend the last time he fought, scoring a TKO win against Urijah Faber also last December.
The rematch between Andrade (20-7-0) and Namajunas (9-4-0) is going to happen after all. The original date of their rematch was stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic, but nothing’s stopping them now from adding another chapter to their rivalry. Andrade scored a TKO against Namajunas in May 2019 to snatch the women’s strawweight belt but lost it in her first title defense against Zhang Weili. Namajunas has not fought since the loss to Andrade but is 3-1 in her last four fights.
Ribas is eyeing to add more to his winning streak to five fights when she faces VanZant this weekend. Ribas (9-1-0) is 3-0 since joining the UFC last year, debuting in the MMA outfit by submitting Emily Whitmore in the second round of their fight in June 2019. VanZant could be fighting for a new contract in the UFC. Her showdown with Ribas is the last fight on her current contract with the UFC. Van Zant (8-4-0) last fought in January 2019, when she submitted Rachael Ostvich.
