UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman believes he is currently the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport after his stunning title defence against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261 in Florida on Sunday morning.
The Nigerian athlete, who prevailed on points in the pair's first meeting in Abu Dhabi last summer, ended any suspicions about his superiority over Masvidal, knocking out his rival with a thudding right hand one minute into the second round.
The event, which took place in front of more than 15,000 fans at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, marked the first time the UFC had staged a show in front of a capacity crowd since March last year.
The victory, Usman’s fourth successful title defence, lifted his win streak to 18 fights, extending his unbeaten record in the UFC to 14. Only Anderson Silva has more consecutive victories, at 16. At present, Usman sits second on the UFC’s men’s pound-for-pound list, behind Jon Jones.
Speaking at the post-event press conference, the champion said he is open to a rematch against Colby Covington next. Usman defeated his old adversary by fifth-round TKO in December 2019.
"With my fundamentals, I am the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet right now," Usman said. “Sky is the limit. I’m growing so much in the sport. I’m just blessed to be at this present time and moment.
"It was a sweet one, it’s up there. If you look at the knockouts now that I’m putting together, that one’s up there for sure. That’s what I wanted to do. I said I’m so far ahead of these guys, I’m coming around and lapping these guys on the track, I’m coming around with a vengeance and I had to go out there and put the nails in that coffin and I did and we turn the page and move forward.
“Now I’m satisfied. They said they wanted violence out here in Jacksonville, Florida and I went out there and gave it to them.”
UFC president Dana White had earlier said Usman is "one of the best ever, and he's on his way to probably being the greatest of all time".
White added: “When you go in and you beat the guys who are looked at as the best in the world at that time and you beat them twice and you beat them convincingly, it's all part of cementing that legacy that this guy is going to have some day.”
The loss was the first time Masvidal had been knocked out in 50 professional bouts. The American, who took the previous fight in Abu Dhabi on six days’ notice, was gracious in defeat, saying: "He's got my number, man."
Elsewhere on the card, Rose Namajunas defeated strawweight champion Weili Zhang with a stunning head-kick knockout in the opening round to regain the belt she lost to Jessica Andrade in 2019 – becoming the first female to reclaim a crown in UFC history. It brought to a halt Zhang’s 20-fight unbeaten streak.
In the event’s other championship bout, flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko cemented her lofty status by seeing off Andrade, the No 1-ranked contender, by second-round TKO. It was Shevchenko’s fifth title defence.
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The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Honeymoonish
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
SPECS
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
SPECS
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Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
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8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)
