UFC 261 to have house full of fans

DANA WHITE ANNOUNCES UFC 261 TO HOUSE FULL HOUSE OF FANS, THREE TITLE FIGHTS

UFC president Dana White on Monday announced that UFC 261 is headed to Jacksonville, Fla., with a full house of fans. The fight card will be topped with three title fights.

VyStar Veteran’s Memorial Arena will be open to a full house, according to White, featuring a blistering tripleheader of championship bouts.

A rematch between UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal tops the UFC 261 bill in Florida. The two first fought at UFC 251 last year, when Masvidal stepped in on short notice, only to lose a unanimous decision to Usman

The fight card also features UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili putting her belt on the line for the second time when she squares off with former champion Rose Namajunas. Zhang was part of the Fight of the Year in 2020, defeating another former champion in Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The UFC hopes she brings that same magic against Namajunas, another fan favorite.

The third championship bout pits flyweight titleholder Valentina Shevchenko against top contender Jessica Andrade.

Other bouts expected to be featured at UFC 261 include:

The UFC 261 lineup includes: Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman, Jimmy Crute vs. Anthony Smith, and several other bouts that should make this one of the most stacked cards in UFC history.

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Date fight the event is 24 April.

I'm curious to know why Zhang Weili went so long between fights. Her most recent fight (split decision over Joanna Jedrzejczyk) was a year ago this month. And I didn't think she'd taken that much damage because she only received a 2-month medical suspension. I know she'd had problems getting a visa because of the coronapanic but a 13-month layoff for a health division champion seems a little odd to me.