UFC 251 main event official after Jorge Masvidal tests negative for COVID-19

The UFC 251 main event between UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal is official after ‘Gamebred’ tested negative for COVID-19.

The UFC made the official announcement at midnight on Monday morning on its Twitter.

OFFICIAL. 🏆

🤬 The BMF steps in on six days notice for #UFC251 @VisitAbuDhabi #InAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/eNq5CZMTTM

— UFC (@ufc) July 6, 2020

ESPN’s Ariel Helwani added details of Masvidal testing negative for the coronavirus, which cleared the way for the welterweight title fight against Usman to be officially booked.

Jorge Masvidal passed his COVID-19 test. He will be leaving for Abu Dhabi tomorrow.

As a result, the UFC has officially announced the Usman vs. Masvidal fight on its social channels.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 6, 2020

Jorge Masvidal passed his COVID-19 test. He will be leaving for Abu Dhabi tomorrow. As a result, the UFC has officially announced the Usman vs. Masvidal fight on its social channels.

Usman and Masvidal will not fly to Abu Dhabi on the same charter plane tomorrow, I’m told.

Masvidal and his team will be flying from Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi on a private jet courtesy of his management, First Round Management.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 6, 2020

Usman and Masvidal will not fly to Abu Dhabi on the same charter plane tomorrow, I’m told. Masvidal and his team will be flying from Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi on a private jet courtesy of his management, First Round Management.

The official announcement of Usman vs. Masvidal concludes one of the craziest 48 hour periods in MMA history. Late Friday night, Gilbert Burns tested positive for COVID-19 which led to him being forced off the card. It appeared as though the UFC would move forward with a new main event between UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, but the UFC was able to strike a deal with Masvidal to take the fight against Usman. Remember, Masvidal was originally set to fight for the belt before a contract stalemate.

Now that Usman vs. Masvidal is official, its addition to UFC 251 makes it arguably one of the most stacked cards in promotional history. In addition to Usman vs. Masvidal and Volkanovski vs. Holloway 2, the vacant UFC bantamweight belt is on the line between Petr Yan and Jose Aldo. As well, a rematch between former UFC women’s strawweight champions Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade is set for the main card, not to mention Paige VanZant potentially fighting for the last time in the UFC against Amanda Ribas.

But the crown jewel of the debut of Fight Island is of course Usman vs. Masvidal. The two rivals have quite the history with one another and with both men at the top of their games right now, this has the potential to be an absolutely incredible fight. Usman will look to defend his belt for the second time in a row after knocking out Colby Covington in his last bout while Masvidal will be looking to get a fourth straight win by knockout.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited are you for Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal?