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UFC 258: Usman vs. Burns face-offs video

The UFC 258 weigh-ins went off without a hitch on Friday with all the card’s athletes making weight.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the UFC 258 face-offs. When the main card fighters were introduced, Jim Miller and Bobby Green were notably absent.

A short time later, UFC president Dana White confirmed to reporters that Green had collapsed backstage and was being tended to by doctors.

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-258-usman-vs-burns-face-offs-video

UFC 258 breakdown: Does familiarity favor Kamaru Usman or Gilbert Burns?

(Per Haljestam, USA TODAY Sports)

Considering the action that the smaller cage encourages, I would not be surprised to see the “wrestling versus jiu-jitsu” theme collide inside of the clinch.

Given the clear path that the champion’s style and strength afford him, it will be interesting to see if Usman elects to take the submission specialist that is Burns down. Thankfully for Usman, steering Burns toward his preferred place of attack along the fence hasn’t traditionally been the most difficult thing to do – though I’d argue that out-wrestling the Brazilian is a trickier ask than meets the eye.

Burns, who is the much more accoladed submission grappler, will carry the on-paper edge in grappling exchanges irrespective of size or strength differences.

I say this all the time, but not all black belts are created equal, and Burns is a prime example of that. An IBJJF world champion both in and out of the gi, Burns was able to translate his brand of grappling quickly into the MMA space.

More importantly, Burns was not afraid to work with wrestling influences from standouts like Greg Jones to catch wrestling coaches like Neil Melanson. Integrating these crucial styles into his repertoire, there are now little-to-no positions that Burns is not comfortable or capable of working from.

Whether he is defending takedowns along the fence and striking off the breaks or hitting sweet trips and chaining takedowns of his own, Burns’ wrestling improvements remain to be one the things that quietly impresses me most. That said, as underrated as that part of his game may be, taking down Usman is an entirely different story.

Not only does the sitting champion bring a perfect takedown defense percentage to the table, but Usman’s clinching style tends to stymie a broad range of attacks.

As referenced earlier, Usman prefers to get a lot of his wrestling done off of the fence via corralling and clinching efforts. Once establishing his office in this space, the champ wastes little time in going to work with everything from foot stomps to crafty overhooks that interweave into wrist controls (a la Jon Jones).

Wrestling at a Division II level for three years (where he was also a two-time national finalist), Usman has always shown the freakish ability to both finish and defend shots from sometimes surprising positions.

Coupled with his work ethic and determination, Usman was able to over-perform in a multitude of ways, especially considering that he didn’t even start wrestling until mid-way through high school.

After helping high-level fighters with their own wrestling, Usman ended up making the jump into mixed martial arts, where he has steadily built onto his imposing wrestling game and presence. Whether he is hitting takedowns in the open or chaining his attempts along the fence, Usman has, for the most part, been able to do what he wants to wrestling-wise inside of the octagon.

Freakish takedown ability aside, Usman also bears an impressive intelligence in transition that could help aid him in his matchup.

Demonstrating excellent positional awareness, Usman always seems to make high-percentage choices whether he is passing or punching. Using suffocating wrestling rides that stymie everything from posts to submission attempts, Usman will seamlessly hit his transitions while steaming his opposition underneath him.

However, as good as Usman’s top game is, I suspect that Burns’ semi-recent propensity to attack legs will be a live threat throughout this contest.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-258-usman-vs-burns-analysis-predictions

Defining Fights: UFC 258 headliner Gilbert Burns

With England’s Leon Edwards unable to take on former champion Tyron Woodley, an opportunity opened up for Burns to make a quick turnaround, and the Brazilian took his chance with both hands to put himself firmly in title contention.

Burns completely dominated Woodley through their five-round main event clash at UFC on ESPN 9, busting open the former champion, then going on to earn a shutout victory, with the judges scoring the bout 50-44, 50-44, 50-45 to give Burns the biggest, most dominant victory of his UFC career.

After his win, Burns called for a title shot against his then-teammate Kamaru Usman, stating, “My name now has got to be the No. 1 contender. I love the champ, my training partner Kamaru Usman, but come on, give me the shot. I’ve got a lot of love for you, but I’m next. I want to fight for the title.”

Watch Gilbert Burns vs. Tyron Woodley on UFC Fight Pass

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-258-gilbert-burns-career-defining-fights

Maki Pitolo not expecting drop-off in Julian Marquez’s game despite layoff

Maki Pitolo won’t pay any mind to Julian Marquez’s lengthy layoff ahead of their middleweight clash Saturday night.

The Hawaiian fighter is expecting the best version of Marquez to show up at UFC 258. The bout with Pitolo (13-7 MMA, 1-3 UFC) marks Marquez’s first fight since August 2018. Marquez hasn’t competed in 31 months due to injury, a cancelled bout after an opponent missed weight, and the pandemic.

Although Marquez hasn’t competed in a while, Pitolo refuses to factor his opponent’s inactivity into his game planning.

“I’ve been prepping for the best version of him,” Pitolo said. “I know he hasn’t fought in two years and that’s a big layoff and a big time to become a different fighter. I’m expecting the best version of him and I’ve been training for him so he can see the best version of myself.”

Pitolo is looking to bounce back from a two-fight losing streak. He believes he will get the job done against Marquez late in the fight.

“He’s a good fighter, (but) he’s a big boy, so I’m expecting him to have that good cardio blast in the first round and then become heavy-footed later on in the fight,” Pitolo said. “I got good cardio. I got good gas tank and I feel like that’s the most pressure on him.”

The 30-year-old is hoping to win and get three more fights in 2021. His goal for his career this year is quite simple.

“This year I look to find myself in the middleweight division, make a name for myself and get on a streak”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc258-maki-pitolo-julian-marquez-not-expecting-drop-off-game

UFC 258 Embedded: ‘We’re going to make fire’

UFC 258 Embedded features the fighter from Saturday’s pay-per-view event at The Apex in Las Vegas, where welterweight champion Kamaru Usman puts his belt on the line against former teammate Gilbert Burns in the main event.

Maycee Barber hits mitts with her brother and coach. Kelvin Gastelum, Alexa Grasso, Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman attend a socially-distanced media day. Gastelum gets psyched when he steps inside the Octagon, and Barber takes her time giving autographs.

(Video courtesy of UFC)

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