The UFC‘s welterweight title will be on the line Saturday night as Kamaru Usman takes on Gilbert Burns while MMASucka provides UFC 258 results. Originally, these two were scheduled to face off last summer at UFC 251 before Burns pulled out due to positive COVID tests. The UFC was again briefly targeting for them to headline UFC 256 in December however Usman was dealing with injuries. Now, the pair will finally meet as Usman looks to defend his title for a third time.
Usman began his run for the title in 2018 as he had put together six straight wins since joining the UFC. That year, Usman put together three big wins that earned him a title shot in 2019. The first of them was a unanimous decision win over Emil Meek. He followed that up with two big wins over Demian Maia and Rafael dos Anjos. Those wins earned him a title shot against the champion Tyron Woodley. After a dominant performance for five rounds, Usman defeated Woodley by unanimous decision to earn the belt. Since then, he has defended his title twice with a TKO win over Colby Covington and a UD win over Jorge Masvidal.
As for Burns, since he moved back to welterweight in 2019, he has won his last four straight fights. After two straight decision wins over Alexey Kunchenko and Gunnar Nelson, Burns earned a big step up in the rankings as he faced Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night 170. Burns finished Maia that night in the first round, handing Maia his first stoppage loss since 2009. Burns solidified himself as the top contender in his next fight as he dominated former champion Tyron Woodley in the main event of UFC on ESPN 9.
UFC 258 Results
In the co-main event, Maycee Barber returns from tearing her ACL to face off against Alexa Grasso. Barber’s last outing was just over a year ago as she faced Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 246. She suffered her first loss that night as Modafferi defeated her by unanimous decision. Now, as she returns from injuries sustained in that fight she faces Grasso who holds a 1-1 record in her last two outings. The first of those was a loss to former champion Carla Esparza. Nearly a year later, in her most recent outing, she defeated Ji Yeon Kim by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 175.
Kicking off the main card will be a middleweight fight between Maki Pitolo and Julian Marquez. Pitolo comes into the fight after losing his last two straight while Marquez has not fought since a 2018 loss to Alessio di Chirico.
Following that fight will be a featherweight fight between Ricky Simon and Brian Kelleher. Simon comes into the fight having won his last two straight while Kelleher looks to pick up his second straight win.
Finally, before the flyweight co-main event will be a middleweight fight between former interim title challenger Kelvin Gastelum and Ian Heinisch. Gastelum enters the fight on a three fight losing streak while Heinisch looks to pick up a big win to put himself in the top ten.
Follow along with MMASucka as we provide you with UFC 258 results throughout the card.
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MAIN CARD (PPV/ESPN+ – 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT)
Kamaru Usman def. Gilbert Burns via TKO (Punches) at 0:34 of Round Three
Alexa Grasso def. Maycee Barber via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Kelvin Gastelum def. Ian Heinisch via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Ricky Simon def. Brian Kelleher via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Julian Marquez def. Maki Pitolo via Submission (Anaconda Choke) at 4:17 of Round Three
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+ – 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT)
Anthony Hernandez def. Rodolfo Vieira via Submission (Guillotine) at 1:53 of Round Two
Belal Muhammad def. Dhiego Lima via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Polyana Viana def. Mallory Martin via Submission (Armbar) at 3:18 of Round One
Chris Gutierrez def. Andre Ewell via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-27)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+ – 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT)
Gabriel Green def. Philip Rowe via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
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