Kevin Holland, Frankie Edgar, Dominick Cruz and Other MMA Stars React to Kamaru Usman’s Brutal Second Round KO Win Over Jorge Masvidal

The atmosphere inside the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida was palpable as Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman entered the cage. Fans, fighters, and personalities came out in full force in person and on social media as the main event counted down. The final fight of UFC 261 certainly had a lot to deliver as the previous title fights captured the world’s attention.

Kamaru Usman put a definitive end to his rivalry with Jorge Masvidal after securing a career-defining second-round KO. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ landed a picture-perfect right hand that dropped ‘Gamebred’ to the canvas. For the first time in his 50-fight professional career, Jorge Masvidal was knocked out cold via follow-up ground strikes.

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The MMA world goes crazy after Kamaru Usman’s KO win

MMA stars from several divisions came out and provided their immediate reaction in the aftermath of Usman’s win. Usman’s striking has improved drastically since his early career, and he’s adding levels to his game with Trevor Wittman. The general consensus was that the evolution of his striking made him a dangerous candidate for the title of the welterweight GOAT.

Top-tier strikers like Dominick Cruz and Dan Ige came out and lauded Usman for his lead right hand that proved to be the deciding factor. Most fans believed that if ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ were to retain his title, it would be through a dominant display of grappling and groundwork. However, he’s shown that he’s a formidable force no matter where the fight ends up going.

Kamaru Usman already has his next appointment slated in the cage, and it’s against the former interim champion Colby Covington. ‘Chaos’ was in attendance at UFC 261 and shared his views of Usman’s KO win via Twitter. It’s safe to say that Covington wasn’t too impressed with ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ and took a dig at Jorge Masvidal for good measure as well.

After Kamaru Usman’s win over a popular name like Jorge Masvidal, there’s no question that fans will be rallying behind him in a big way. Colby Covington has posed himself as a massive heel, and Usman’s constant domination will surely lead to him being the favorite over Covington. However, it’s noteworthy that ‘Chaos’ gave Usman his hardest fight to date and will undoubtedly look to swipe off his hype in a rematch.