UFC 258: Usman vs Burns aired live on Sunday, February 14 and delivered ten incredible performances at the UFC Apex Arena in Las Vegas.
In the Main Event, the showdown between former teammates UFC champion Kamaru “The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman and #2 contender Gilbert “Durinho” Burns was an emotional and brutal affair. Burns started out utilizing his striking prowess, but Usman turned it around in the second round, and after multiple knockdowns, he got the TKO in the third. Usman said,
“This one feels good because there was a lot going into this fight from obviously me leaving the old camp and them pushing the next guy through, which deservingly so… Gilbert is putting in the work, very tough guy, he deserved all of it.
“It means a lot. By the time I’m said and done, that’s when I can kind of sit back and look and say ‘Wow, I did that’. Right now it’s on to the next guy. I’m going to take a little vacation, but then I’m going to worry about who the next guy is, because they are all coming for me.”
The Co-Main Event between women’s flyweight rankers #10 Maycee Barber and #15 Alexa Grasso put on a grueling, competitive three rounds of action across striking, wrestling in the clinch, and grappling. Grasso shone brightest in the second round with a near knockdown and submission attempts, which earned her the decision on the scorecards. Grasso said,
“This is a new Alexa. I knew I had to make my name sound again in the best way possible. This is 2-0 in flyweight, so I feel amazing. This is what I wanted.”
Highlights:
- At middleweight, former title challenger and #9 ranked Kelvin Gastelum returned to the win column with a commendable dominant performance against #15 Ian Heinisch.
- On the prelims, Anthony Hernandez scored the upset of his career by not just finishing, but submitting multiple time world Brazilian jiu jitsu champion Rodolfo Vieira in the second round.
Fight Game Asia 