UFC 258: Nigerian Nightmare Usman Beats Burns to Retain Title thisdaylive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thisdaylive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Undisputed welterweight champion Kamaru Usman cements his position at the top of the 170-pound division by beating top contender Gilbert Burns at UFC 258.
Just like “orange is the new black” or “40 is the new 30,” COVID-19 is the new injury bug. In MMA, short-notice replacements and fight cancellations have long been due primarily to injuries. However, since the UFC came back online in May 2020, COVID-19 has been the primary affliction ravaging fight cards. One particular UFC middleweight match-up was impacted by both injury and the virus.
In June 2020, Ian Heinisch was scheduled to face Brendan Allen at UFC on ESPN 12. Heinisch was coming off a first-round submission of Gerald Meerschaert only three weeks prior after suffering back-to-back losses in the second half of 2019. Allen, on the other hand, was riding a six-fight winning streak and looking forward to a huge opportunity against a ranked opponent. However, less than two weeks before the fight, Heinisch had to pull out due to an injury.
Twenty-eight seconds was all it took for number-two ranked contender, Cory ‘The Sandman’ Sandhagen to stamp his status as the next challenger to the bantamweight championship.
Circling continuously from the ever-pressuring Edgar, Sandhagen fired off a snap jab as Edgar continued to move forward, before circling to his left, pulling Edgar into a terryfying right flying knee, completely knocking the Toms River native unconscious.
With eyes fixed on the UFC 259 title matchup of incumbent titleholder, Petr ‘No Mercy’ Yan, and challenger, one-time foe, Aljamain ‘Funk Master’ Sterling the Aurora native can surely await the victor next. It’s another viral knockout for Sandhagen who stopped Marlon Moraes with a wheel kick last October on ‘Fight Island’.