UFC welcomes back fans at full capacity with a stacked card headlined by three championship bouts.
The main event will see a thrilling welterweight championship rematch when Kamaru Usman defends against No. 4 ranked contender Jorge Masvidal. Women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko goes for her fifth consecutive title defense against No. 1 ranked contender Jessica Andrade. In a highly anticipated women’s strawweight championship bout, Zhang Weili faces former champion and No. 1 ranked contender Rose Namajunas.
In anticipation of this event, UFC will host a press conference with all six of the athletes competing in the championship bouts on Thursday, April 22 at 1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. ET at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena, in Jacksonville, Fla. Also attending the press conference will be Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, who will both provide opening remarks. Members of the media who are credentialed for UFC 261: USMAN vs. MASVIDAL 2 are automatically credentialed for this event.
UFC 261: USMAN vs. MASVIDAL 2 will take place Saturday, April 24 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. All bouts will be simulcast on ESPN+ in English and Spanish beginning at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT with the UFC Fight Pass prelims. The prelims will continue exclusively on ESPN & ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and the ESPN+ Pay-Per-View main card will kick off at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
The press conference, which is free and open to the public, will also be streamed live on the ESPN app, as well as UFC’s digital pages on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook and TikTok.
WHO: DANA WHITE, UFC President
RON DESANTIS, Florida Governor
LENNY CURRY, Jacksonville Mayor
KAMARU USMAN, UFC welterweight champion
JORGE MASVIDAL, No. 3 ranked UFC welterweight contender
ZHANG WEILI, UFC women’s strawweight champion
ROSE NAMAJUNAS, No. 1 ranked UFC women’s strawweight contender
VALENTINA SHEVCHENKO, UFC women’s flyweight champion
JESSICA ANDRADE, No. 1 ranked UFC women’s flyweight contender
WHAT: UFC 261: USMAN vs. MASVIDAL 2 Press Conference
WHEN: Thursday, April 22 – 1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. ET
WHERE: Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena
300 A Philip Randolph Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32202
Visit UFC.com for more information.