5 times when a UFC champion used a surprising gameplan to win a fight

#4. Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal – UFC 261

Kamaru Usman surprised the fans by striking with Jorge Masvidal in their rematch

When Kamaru Usman first defended his UFC welterweight title against Jorge Masvidal in 2020, it quickly became clear that the easiest path to victory for him was to use his powerful wrestling game.

Clearly wary of the vaunted striking and knockout power of ‘Gamebred’, Usman struggled for traction in the first round of their meeting and only found success when he began to wear Masvidal out by clinching with him and eventually taking him down.

When the two men were signed in a rematch at UFC 261 last year, the feeling was that Usman would simply need to repeat the same gameplan in order to pick up another victory. It wouldn’t be very entertaining, but it definitely felt like the path of least resistance.

However, with another year’s experience and training under his belt, Usman clearly felt more comfortable standing in the rematch. Rather than spam the clinch as he’d done in their first bout, he seemed happy to stand and strike with Masvidal.

It seemed like a risky choice – but it quickly became clear that ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ was in fact the sharper striker. In the second round, he proved it once and for all by leveling Masvidal with a brutal right hand that knocked him senseless.

We’d seen Usman use his striking to win title bouts before – most notably against Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns – but never against a dangerous kickboxer like ‘Gamebred’, meaning that to see a finish like this was a major shocker.

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#3. Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez – UFC 188

Fabricio Werdum unleashed some surprising skills in the clinch to beat Cain Velasquez in 2015

When Fabricio Werdum faced off with UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez in the summer of 2015, it seemed almost like an impossible task for him.

Sure, Werdum had one of the most vaunted grappling games in the history of the division. However, he was up against arguably the most well-rounded fighter in the division – a man who could wrestle phenomenally, bully opponents in the clinch and knock them out with brutal strikes, too.

It felt like Werdum’s only path to victory would be to somehow get Velasquez to the ground to submit him – and while he eventually did that, it didn’t come in the way anyone expected.

Werdum instead surprised everyone by largely preferring to clinch with Velasquez. This was usually the champion’s sweet spot, as Velasquez tended to mash his foes into the fence and bully them with short punches.

In this fight, however, he found himself shockingly outgunned by Werdum’s Muay Thai work. The Brazilian continually hit him with knees and sharp elbows, even overpowering him.

Velasquez tried to fight back, but eventually, it was clear that Werdum’s gameplan was sapping his vaunted cardio. In the third round, he made the error of sloppily shooting for a takedown, and dived directly into a guillotine choke that forced him to tap out.

The fight was a major lesson for Werdum’s doubters, as he proved that not only was he an ace Brazilian jiu-jitsu grappler, but he had the skills in all areas to take out the very best in the game.