Kamaru Usman will face Jorge Masvidal in a welterweight title battle on Saturday at UFC 251 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
The promo announced the fight at midnight Monday.
Masvidal passed his coronavirus test, and both he and Usman will be leaving Las Vegas for Abu Dhabi later Monday, sources said. Usman will be on a charter flight, and Masvidal will fly on a private jet, according to sources.
After getting here in Las Vegas on Sunday, both fighters needed to take a coronavirus test and after that quarantine while awaiting the outcomes. Had they not passed the tests, the battle would not have been able to go on.
The UFC worked to restore Usmans existence on the card after Gilbert Burns was required to withdraw Friday night.
For the previous 2 months, the UFC and Masvidal were far apart on agreement talks to make this battle happen. In the end, the UFC decided to leave settlements about a month earlier and gave the title battle to Burns, who recently beat former champ Tyron Woodley.
Later, Masvidal published a series of tweets criticizing the UFC for its company practices and questioning whether the relationship would be severed for some time. Once Burns was forced off the card late Friday, momentum began to construct for the initial strategy, which is an animosity match months in the making. Usman and Masvidal have actually been embroiled in a heated fight that saw the duo get into a shouting match at Super Bowl media row previously this year in Miami.
On Saturday afternoon, Usman tweeted, “Might be time for the pig to squeal.” Masvidals co-manager published a series of Instagram stories showing Masvidal on the phone, with the caption “negotiating.”.
Of course, during the coronavirus pandemic, it isnt as basic as simply consenting to a battle. Masvidal took and passed a coronavirus antibody test Saturday afternoon. That test shows whether an individual has been exposed to the coronavirus however does not show whether the person presently has the infection. The fighters still have to pass more coronavirus tests before fight night, as will all the fighters competing this month in Abu Dhabi.
Masvidal is considered among the most popular fighters in the sport, with lots of believing that he was the 2019 fighter of the year after he got impressive wins over Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz. In addition to the welterweight title battle, the card includes Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway 2 for the featherweight title and Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo for the bantamweight title.
Afterward, Masvidal published a series of tweets slamming the UFC for its service practices and questioning whether the relationship would be severed for some time. Usman and Masvidal have actually been embroiled in a heated fight that saw the duo get into a screaming match at Super Bowl media row previously this year in Miami.
Masvidal passed a coronavirus and took antibody test Saturday afternoon.
