LAS VEGAS — Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns spent many hours in the cage battling each other, sparring over more than 200 rounds together.
On Saturday, they were in the cage together again, but this time the stakes were considerably higher. The long-time friends and sparring partners fought in the main event of UFC 258 for Usman’s welterweight title, and for a while, it looked as if Burns’ pre-fight confidence would lead him to an improbable championship.
But after a rocky first round in which Burns buzzed him several times, Usman turned things around in the second and finished it early in the third.