KAMARU USMAN RETAINED his welterweight title by winning his 13th successive UFC bout on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
The Nigerian-born Texan stopped Gilbert Burns with punches 34 seconds in the third round at UFC 258, taking his record to 18-1, defending his title for the third time, and breaking Georges St Pierre’s consecutive welterweight victories record in the process.
Usman was put down in the first round, but recovered impressively to stop Burns early in the third.
In the night’s other main bout, Mexican flyweight Alexa Grasso beat Maycee Barber by unanimous decision after a hard fought contest.
Four of the nine fights were decided by unanimous decision, with Kelvin Gastelum beating Ian Heinisch, Ricky Simon defeating Brian Kelleher, Belal Muhammad overcoming Dhiego Lima, and Christ Gutierrez outdoing Andre Ewell.
Julian Marquez beat Maki Pitolo via third-round submission, Anthony Hernandez won through a second-round submission against Rodolfo Vierira, while Polyana Viana gained a first round submission against Mallory Martin.
Ah there’s too much analysis and finger pointing going on. What we had was a classic EC final. The game was lost by a single point – the kick of a ball. You could also say that Leinster were denied by the crossbar, that’s how close it was, it could have gone either way. Leinster are a great team, just like La Rochelle. ROG knows that it could so very easily have gone Leinster’s way too. And the point that Leinster don’t get enough high pressure matches in the URC, that is negated by the fact that they make up most of the Irish team. I’m sure ROG knows he probably won’t win all these games against Leinster. Leo and Leinster will be back next year hungrier than ever now…and I hope they win it too, unless they are playing us in the final…from a Munster fan :)
@Rob O’Connor: you have summed it up so well sir , now of you go and win in South Africa.
@Rob O’Connor: I wish I could like this post twice. On the money. Some of the commentary on here is way too dramatic.
@Rob O’Connor: except LaRochelle do keep winning against us in Europe, it’s frustrating. Leinster are starting to look a bit like Clermont, I don’t know how we’ll faire next year with the new coach coming in, there could be a stuttering transistion period or a delightful bounce. Hopefully we can stay in the semi-final/final standard and if we keep getting to finals…. Hopefully.
Funny thing was last year they were too conservative and kept kicking penalties, this year when they had that penalty and a chance at the drop goal they didn’t take it. I don’t think La Rochelle are that far ahead of Leinster, just more clever in their decision making.
I think Byrne hid in the second half, whether it by not going for the penalty, going for the corner (not just inside the 22) and not going for what wd have been, outside the pressure of the match, an east drop goal.
Quinlan made some good points this morning that the penalty was almost a free shot, as Leinster wd have gotten the ball back anyway. To not take it on and put VDF, who didn’t shirk, in the position of throwing into a line out again, isn’t great, no matter what way you look at it.
It’s not to scapegoat him, it’s far from the only reason Leinster lost (poor exits and stopping playing / passing), but it’s very worrying. I don’t think for example Crowley is a great player, but he has balls and steps up to the occasion the bigger it is.
Would you want Ross Byrne in a WC QF ?
@Andrew Hurley: Nope. Crowley every day
@Andrew Hurley: Again an example of how fickle fans are, not so long ago Ross was being praised for having huge balls and ice in his veins for coming on cold and kicking the difficult winning penalty against Australia. Last time I checked it wasn’t Byrne’s call on whether to go for the penalty or corner, it’s the captain’s. I just find it so strange all the focus is on him and not the player who gave the ball away on the 1m line when we were threatening to score the match winning try.
@Andrew Hurley: it’s about leaders and decision makers on the pitch. Leinster lacked that on Saturday or at the very least what leadership they had in the first half evaporated for the second. Ross Byrne is a number 2 kicker who has been wrapped in cotton wool for the past few months and not had enough game time. Any team arrogant enough to assume that you can change 12 of the starting line up from a semi final one week to a final the next week needs their heads checked.
@PJ Smith: Very well said. Sport has gone completely cut throat these days. A hero in November becomes a villain in May. Disgusted by the comments left by some ‘fans’ on the Leinster Instagram post defeat. While I agree, a shot at goal even from that range was a free chance and likely would’ve returned possession, its captains decision as you say. They went for the corner and a fatigued clear out cost them. Small margins. I personally feel very proud of my province, and having met them last year in the Bridge Bar after their defeat of Connacht, they’re all gentlemen. Down to earth, honest, and do their best every time. I’d rather that than any silverware. The chance will come again.
@PJ Smith: a November international is nowhere close to the pressure of 3 minutes from the end of a Heineken cup final. And if Byrne can be praised for that, can he not be criticized, in a reasonable way, for this ? Ringrose couldn’t ask him to take the kick – either Byrne wants it or Ringrose is obliged to go down the line. The fact he didn’t offer himself up for a drop goal is very, very hard to understand….
@Tom: what about a team that rests 14 of their 15 the week before a final? Are u having LR examined too or is it different for the winners
@Andrew Hurley: That’s the point, it’s one extreme or the other with people these days. You’re a hero or a villain, nothing in-between and there is certainly no accounting for the fact these players are humans, not robots that can hit the same peaks over and over. Were you involved in the discussion as to what to do at that moment? Because I wasn’t but Byrne has demonstrated he’s willing to have a go at high pressure kicks. It’s the captain’s call one way or the other, James Ryan was hung for it in the past and he sure don’t take the kicks. And you’re underestimating the pressure of the Australia kick, it wouldn’t be unfair to say his international career was on the line and that moment sparked an incredible comeback for him. We were camped in their line about to score, that’s why.
@Ultán Corcoran: Agreed, criticism is fine. We’re all subject to it but the way people are going after the likes of Ross Byrne when there are far more obvious issues to point at astounds me. There’s been a continual presence of people that want to tear him down for some unknown reason. But the reality is Leinster lost as a team and while it hurts, I’m also proud of them for putting their bodies on the line for what is ultimately a game to entertain us. This will hurt them far more than any of us and no comments on message boards or comment sections will make them see any clearernwhat they already know. So as far as I’m concerned it’s about supporting them to get back up and do it again.
@Ultán Corcoran: Agreed, criticism is fine. We’re all subject to it but the way people are going after the likes of Ross Byrne when there are far more obvious issues to point at astounds me. There’s been a continual presence of people that want to tear him down for some unknown reason. But the reality is Leinster lost as a team and while it hurts, I’m also proud of them for putting their bodies on the line for what is ultimately a game to entertain us. This will hurt them far more than any of us and no comments on message boards or comment sections will make them see any clearer what they already know. So as far as I’m concerned it’s about supporting them to get back up and do it again.
@PJ Smith: to be fair, I tried to be constructive in my criticism of Byrne – which should be allowed. Leinster had chances to win, even if they were far from the only reasons for the loss, but these weren’t even attempted, which is really frustrating and can’t just be glossed over.
@Andrew Hurley: It’s a bit myopic though. Byrne didn’t cost us the game and yet people are calling him out based on a decision that wasn’t his and ignoring all the other factors of the game that had far more of an impact. Drop goals are like hail Mary’s in rugby, they go wrong far more often than they go right yet with the benefit of hindsight people act like it was a no brainer guarantee while conveniently ignoring where we were when the stupid incident that lost us the ball occured.
@PJ Smith: have you not read each of my posts where I says it was not the main factor ?
The fact is he had two opportunities and didn’t step up. You’re right about drop goals on general but this wd have been more or less dead centre, 15-20m out, and putting the pressure aside, they don’t get easier. The chances of getting it were 60-70%+, much higher than a try.
The main issue is not even the exit kicks, nor Byrne, but Leinster stopped playing. The reason for that I don’t know, but I do know from what we saw their ten had a chance to rescue it but unlike Crowley didn’t step up. I’m not a Munster fan, far from it, but I like 10s who get better the more intense the pressure.
@PJ Smith: he didn’t claim the kick, no captian would ask a kicker to take a penalty if he didn’t say he wanted it. Drop goals are not hail Marys, they are a skill that most out halfs are expected to be reasonable good at. You just have to have the guts to take it on. Byrne at no stage in the second half took responsibility and demanded the ball. A leader and playmaker needs to stand up and be counted. Not for the first time he didn’t
@chris mcdonnell: Ah lad, you’re inventing parts of the story to suit your narrative. Were you in the discussion? Do you know who said what? Because otherwise you’re just speculating that he didn’t say he could kick it but the call was strategically made differently. Drop goals fail more than they succeed regardless of guts, stop acting like it wouldn’t have been a risky decision and again you’re ignoring the rest of the context that we had a real high probability of scoring until something stupid happened that Byrne had nothing to do with.
@Andrew Hurley: Fair enough I’m generalising too much and responding to the more general criticism going around. That said, you still seem to ignore where we were when big Mike went momentarily mental. Camped on their line and, based on history, a high probability to score. Hindsight makes it easy but at that time we were in a fantastic position we regularly score from and Ross was not the one to make that tackle. That’s being glossed over because we know how it played out. One opportunity was not his decision as he’s not captain and people saying otherwise are speculating to suit their view. Drop goals are never easy, that’s why they don’t work so often and are very rare, it’s high risk stuff. We’ve seen enough Irish 10s crucified for missing them in the heat of the moment.
@Andrew Hurley: maybe Leinster should have made better use of RB for exits, given how badly JL and JGP kicked in the second half, but that was the game plan. the pack couldn’t get the ball back for RB to do anything until the last few mins.
The pen was hard, and into a breeze. If missed , they’d get the ball back on the halfway, maybe with a back row throwing to a lineout, good chance of losing the ball there or turning it over in their own half. if any of that happened after going for the corner, it was in the LR 22.
The drop goal, they looked like they might get a try/pen, so they went for it. If they were back a bit, they probably would have worked for a drop. I missed the last 5 mins of Munster last week, but maybe they knew they hadn’t a hope of a try so set up for the drop.
@Daniel Lehane: penalty by my calculation is about 52m from the posts and I’ve never seen Byrne really kick anything over 45m. He’s a good kicker but he doesn’t have a big boot on him which if it was slightly into the wind makes not going for the kick a very obvious decision. What’s the point in it when it would almost definitely just land short and La Rochelle would then bang the ball about 60m down the pitch again? Regarding the drop goal I think he should’ve taken it but again you can’t tell what’s going on within the game. Maybe Leinster thought they could close out the game with a try or maybe it was just poor game management
@PJ Smith: sorry but if he told ringrose I have this there’s no way he was told no we are going to the corner because our 7 forwards without a hooker is a much better option than taking the kick. Even his kick to touch only hit the 22.
Guys, the game is over the result is in. The rugby was good and the better team on the day won. Let’s look forward to next week’s rugby instead. Provide some analysis on how Munster can beat Stormers in SA!
Shoulda ,coulda , woulda ….
I suspect Byrne didn’t kick the difficult penalty for 2 reasons: 1 because it was a tough kick, all be it I’d have backed him to kick it but 2nd more important reason he didn’t was because of the time left on the clock- Leinster were out on their feet and even if Byrne landed the kick to take the lead, there 4+ mins left for LAR to hit back. Going down the line and going for quick try score with conversion to come or winning a penalty near posts would have guaranteed the win! That’s the logic I think of the decision . Not going for the drop goal when repelled after several phases and winding the clock down a bit did seem odd though
ROG won Munster fans their first trophy in 15 years on Saturday. I doubt this weekend even matters to them
@Dave Moran: Give it a rest!
@Dave Moran: By your above reasoning. Should you not have said he got us our second trophy in 2 years??? Gob#####
@Dave Moran: have you ever heard the saying ” better to remain silent and thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt “
@Dave Moran: Really scraping the bottom of the barrel with the insults now Dave, and let’s be honest it was a very small barrel to start with.
Just like your team I think you need the rest of the summer off to figure out where it all went wrong.
@Stanley Marsh: Munster have had 15 years and still not figured anything out so could always be worse!
@Dave Moran: seriously?
@Dave Moran: did rog not do the same last year.
@Dave Moran: Cheap thrills and a chest full of regrets….
@Dave Moran: I see Munster are still living rent-free in your head Dave.
@Dave Moran: no last year as well up rochelle
Non ho potuto scrivere prima per impegni di lavoro. Voglio dire grazie a tutti i ragazzi!! Sempre e comunque forza leinster una squadra fantastica e una filosofia di vita che ho conosciuto nel 2010 e che mi accompagna.
Un abbraccio e un saluto a sexton il più grande di sempre.
Avanti sempre e comunque leinster.
Un saluto da luca , Perugia, Italia
@Luca Benci: Grazie… I think
Everybody will have their own spin on Ross but I believe the two main reasons why we lost were the early injury to Ryan and Furlong coming into the game not fully fit. If Leinster or indeed Ireland wish to succeed then these two world class players must be on the field for most of the matches. Ryan’s in particular was a devastating injury as it removed the enforcer from our pack. Him going off lifted the LRC pack in the same way Skelton going off would lift ours.
It was sad to see Alaalatola walk up to collect his medal holding the hand of his young child. It was a red card. It was all the more frustrating because Leinster typically score when they get within 5 metres of the line. They made their decisions and backed themselves, evidenced in each of the 3 tries scored within the first 12 mins. Decision making as regards a kick to touch or going for goal is different to on field decisions by individual players that you cannot control. All actions have consequences, some more than others. I doubt Alataaloa had bad intentions, but it effected the outcome just like every decision EVERY player made on the day on both sides. If Byrne Byrne believed he could kick it over then he needs to say it. If s’one else decides then it’s not his fault.
@David Gaffney: I’m a Munster fan. It seems provincial allegianve requires qualification of all comments on rugby articles these days for some reason. I would prefer that isn’t the case, but here’s hoping that at some stage it doesn’t need to be said and people hopefully realise that objective commentary should prevail without attempts to smugly “score points” purely based on “not enough points being scored” by their rival team, resulting in a loss. Grow up.
@David Gaffney: he was entitled to collect his medal as bad as his red card was. Doesn’t seem that type of player. Hopefully he never hits anyone like that again.
@chris mcdonnell: I absolutely agree with you. I wasn’t saying that he shouldn’t be able to. I felt sorry for him as he did so. That one action should not and hopefully will not be something that defines him and he shouldn’t ever be attributed with the reason for Leinster not winning. Multiple actions by both sides, good and bad, decided the outcome and not any one particular moment or action. Just like Byrne should be singled out, nobody else should be either.
@Paul Power classic
It’s quite simple in my opinion. Byrne should have dropped back and demanded the ball or JGP should have told him to do so. Either lack of balls or lack of Rugby intelligence.
I wouldn’t back Ross to do a decent hand shake. Coward.
@JamRag: he had the integrity to go out and give it his best, but sport can be tough. He seems like a decent individual unlike you, a real keyboard coward.
@JamRag: I guess you must be some officianado when it comes to the decency or otherwise of hand shakes! That comment is just ridiculous, but at least you signed it off with your name, “Coward”.