A super confident Usman caught Masvidal with a perfect right hand in the second round to give the American fighter the first knockout loss of his career. 

It seemed it was going to be a close and tight fight after an exciting round one. Usman caught Masvidal with a couple of jabs. 

But the American was good with his striking and almost caught Usman with a knee. He instantly wrestled Masvidal to the ground, but the American did well to wriggle out to end the round. 

In the second, Usman closed the fight with a perfect right hand to send Masvidal to win the fight. 

This was a complete reverse of their first outing in July 2020 (UFC 251), when the fight went the distance before Usman secured the landslide win on points.

Masvidal had remained defiant in that loss, insisting that he wasn’t well prepared, having only accepted the challenge on a six-day notice after Gilbert Burns, Usman’s original opponent, pulled out after he tested positive for COVID-19. 

There are, however, no excuses this time as Usman begins to distance himself from other fighters in the division.

He, however, praised Masvidal for the challenge he posed. 

“I was nervous, he made me go to the workshop and I went to sharpen my tools,” Usman told commentator Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview. 

Masvidal admitted that he was surprised by the several tools with which Usman attacked him on the night. 

“First time in his career, never been knocked out, showed me something I didn’t see in the first fight. Thought he would wrestle more,” he said.