On Saturday night, UFC will resume its United States schedule as the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas is set to host UFC 258. The main event features a fight for the UFC Welterweight Championship. Kamaru Usman will defend his belt against Gilbert Burns in a fight that was rescheduled from UFC 251 due to positive COVID-19 testing for Burns and his coach. The co-headliner will pit Maycee Barber against Alexa Grasso in a women’s flyweight bout.
We have the full fight card for you, along with UFC betting suggestions for the key matchups.
UFC 258: Usman vs Burns
Main Card (Pay Per View)
Kamaru Usman vs Gilbert Burns (UFC Welterweight Championship)
Maycee Barber vs Alexa Grasso (Women’s Flyweight)
Kelvin Gastelum vs Ian Heinisch (Middleweight)
Maki Pitolo vs Julian Marquez (Middleweight)
Bobby Green vs Jim Miller (Lightweight)
Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Rodolfo Viera vs Anthony Hernandez (Middleweight)
Belal Muhammad vs Dhiego Lima (Welterweight)
Polyana Viana vs Mallory Martin (Women’s Strawweight)
Andre Ewell vs Chris Gutierrez (Catchweight – 140 lbs)
Early Preliminary Card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Ricky Simon vs Brian Kelleher (Featherweight)
Gabriel Green vs Philip Rowe (Welterweight)
Gillian Robertson vs Miranda Maverick (Women’s Flyweight)
Kamaru Usman (17-1, 12-0 UFC, -280) vs Gilbert Burns (19-3, 12-3 UFC, +240) features one of the great fighters in UFC in Usman, with the potential to become one of the best MMA fighters in history. In his early UFC bouts, his wrestling prowess carried him through some solid wins. When the competition increasing in quality, he showed a solid striking game, as with his speedy KO of Sergio Moraes. He beat Demian Maia and Rafael dos Anjos on the cards without getting significant resistance, and he simply rolled right over Tyron Woodley to take the belt, using his wrestling game to break his will. In his title defense against Colby Covington, he kept the game upright and pounded Covington into submission. His next defense came against Jorge Masvidal, and the fight went to the ground again. With an elite striking game and an elite ground game, it will take another elite fighter to snatch the belt away.
Burns was also a key UFC prospect for years, but his game was more one-sided, at least at first, as he was a grappler. After losses to Rashid Magomedov and Michel Prazeres, he realized he had to put together a striking game, and he improved. However, at lightweight, he never managed to make his way into contender status, so he moved up to welterweight in a last-minute fight against Alexey Kunchenko. Moving up one weight class proved to be the change he needed because of his cardio advantage. He won four fights in a row, becoming a contender in about ten months. This will be Usman’s toughest test because of the styles of the fighters. Burns is expert at bringing submissions, so will Usman keep things upright? It worked against Covington, but Covington did not have the striking game that Burns has. There is a lot of room for the upset here, but at this point the smart pick is with the champion.
Final Prediction:
Usman wins via decision
Alexa Grasso (12-3, 4-3 UFC, -130) vs Maycee Barber (8-1, 3-1 UFC, +110) is an intriguing matchup between two fighters looking to make their mark in the flyweight division. Grasso did beat Karolina Kowalkiewicz in 2019, but that has really been the only solid win in her time at strawweight. Tatiana Suarez demolished her on the ground, and fights with Randa Markos and Carla Esparza went against her on the cards. She has moved to flyweight full time and used her speed advantage to beat Ji Yeon Kim.
Barber will represent a much tougher test. Her strength and youth are her main advantages at this point. Her win over J.J. Aldrich was impressive, as Aldrich delivered punishment in the early going, but then Barber was able to deliver the finish. Against Roxanne Modafferi, Barber suffered a torn ACL and ended up taking the upset loss. This is her return fight after rehabbing her knee. If the fight stays upright, Grasso should be able to stack up enough points to win. If the fight goes to the ground, though, it is anyone’s bout.
Final Prediction:
Grasso wins via decision
UFC Betting Odds
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