Usman has looked unstoppable at welterweight.
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLCUFC 258 kicks off tomorrow and, while it hardly carries the attention and hype of a Conor McGregor fight, we could have a banger main event on our hands.
The main event features reigning welterweight champ Kamaru Usman facing off against Gilbert Burns, an unlikely title contender in some ways, but also a huge stylistic threat to Usman. Burns has torn through the welterweight division during the past couple of years and is absolutely deserving of this spot. He's one of the best jiu jitsu practitioners in the UFC and has proven lethal on the feet with an ever-evolving striking skillset.
Will that be enough to topple Usman? That's difficult to say. He's been dominant at welterweight but has looked weakest against grappling specialists. Time will tell who comes out on top.
How to watch UFC 258
This year the UFC entered into a new partnership with ESPN. That's great news for the UFC and the expansion of the sport of MMA, but bad news for consumer choice. Especially if you're one of the UFC fans who want to watch UFC live in the US.
In the US, if you want to know how to watch UFC 258, you'll only find the fight night on PPV through ESPN Plus. The cost structure is a bit confusing, but here are the options to watch UFC on ESPN, according to ESPN's site:
- Existing yearly ESPN Plus subscribers can order the upcoming UFC fight for $70.
- Existing monthly ESPN Plus subscribers will be able to either upgrade to an annual plan and buy UFC PPV for $85 or purchase the ability to watch the UFC event on PPV for $70 by itself.
- New ESPN Plus subscribers can buy a bundle of one UFC PPV event (streaming in HD) and an ESPN Plus annual recurring subscription for $90. This is a decent deal. The previous bundle gave a saving of 25% but this new bundle is a 35% saving. The ESPN Plus annual ESPN subscription will auto-renew after one year, at the price of an ESPN Plus annual subscription at the time of auto-renewal.
You can do all of the above at the link below.
MMA fans in the UK can watch UFC 258 exclusively through BT Sport. There are more options if you live in Australia. You can watch UFC 258 through Main Event on Foxtel. You can also watch on the UFC website or using its app. You can even order using your PlayStation or using the UFC app on your Xbox.
Start time
Based on previous UFC times, this is the schedule we expect...
US
- The main card starts Feb. 13, 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT).
- The prelims start Feb. 13, 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT).
- The early prelims start Feb. 13, 6.30 p.m. ET (3.30 p.m. PT).
UK
- The main card starts Feb. 13, 3 a.m. GMT.
- The prelims start Feb. 13, 1 a.m. GMT.
- The early prelims start Feb. 13, 11.30 p.m. GMT.
Australia
- The main card starts Feb. 14, 2 p.m. AEDT.
- The prelims start Feb. 14, 12 p.m. AEDT.
- The early prelims start Feb. 14, 10.30 a.m. AEDT.
Fight Card
Given how volatile and fluid previous fight cards have been, expect this one to chop and change. We'll update when we can.
Main Card
- Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns
- Maycee Barber vs. Alexa Grasso
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Ian Heinisch
- Maki Pitolo vs. Julian Marquez
- Ricky Simon vs. Brian Kelleher
Prelims
- Rudolfo Vieira vs. Anthony Hernandez
- Belal Muhammad vs. Dhiego Lima
- Polyana Viana vs. Mallory Martin
- Andrew Ewell vs. Chris Gutierrez
Early Prelims
- Gabriel Green vs. Philip Rowe
- Gillian Robertson vs. Miranda Maverick
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