The Takedown | UFC 261: Jake Paul’s Daniel Cormier beef the cherry on top in card that may go down as greatest ever
- Kamaru Usman caps off historic night that had little bit of everything by knocking Jorge Masvidal out cold
- Fans in Jacksonville saw gruesome injuries, title defences, title upsets, dance moves and some ringside drama as the UFC made its triumphant return
UFC 261 had a little bit of everything.
Historical context, gruesome injuries, spectacular knockouts, victory dances, title fight upsets and some more cannon fodder for the Jake Paul media tour train wreck courtesy of some ringside drama with Daniel Cormier.
It all started with UFC president Dana White’s boisterous declaration: “We are back!” He announced on March 16 that UFC 261 would take place in Jacksonville, Florida, and in front of a capacity crowd at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, triumphantly bringing fans back into the mix.
After one of the wildest, most unpredictable nights in UFC history, the sport came roaring back into fulsome action with a million exclamation points. White pushed the UFC to the forefront of the pandemic response, holding cards first in Jacksonville, then at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, then a string of cards in Las Vegas without fans all last year, but you can bet he was counting the days he could bring MMA back to its normal environment: in front of sold-out arenas.
Now that the dust is starting to settle, it’s quite clear to see UFC 261 was a massive win for White, the company and the entire sport of mixed martial arts.