Jorge Masvidal is living up to his title of being the “Baddest Motherf*cker” in mixed martial arts. After Gilbert Burns was forced from the UFC 251 main event for testing positive for the novel coronavirus COVID-19, Masvidal offered to step in.
During the last-minute scrambling, Masvidal was able to pass a COVID-19 test of his own which paved the way for the BMF titleholder to make the trip to Fight Island in Abu Dhabi to take on welterweight champion Kamaru Usman live on pay-per-view in just six days.
Once Masvidal’s test came back negative, he was booked on a flight to Fight Island and the Ultimate Fighting Championship officially announced its new main event.
For stepping in to save the day, Masvidal will also receive a bump in pay.
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Now that Masvidal is cleared, UFC 251 will move forward with three title fights. This will be Usman’s second title defense after successfully defending his title against Colby Covington at UFC 245 in December 2019.
In the co-main event, Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway 2 for the featherweight championship, and Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo for the vacant bantamweight title. The event will also include Jessica Andrade vs. Rose Namajunas and Amanda Ribas vs. Paige VanZant.
Following UFC 251, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will hold three other events on the island.
Other events in July will include:
- July 15, 2020 — UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Ige
- July 18, 2020 — UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2 — for the vacant flyweight title
- July 25, 2020 — UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till
Now that Usman vs. Masvidal is official for the UFC’s Fight Island debut, who do you think will leave the Octagon with the belt: Usman or the BMF champ? Sound off in the comments section below with your thoughts and predictions.
