Confirmed | Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman are en route to Las Vegas after agreeing to fight at UFC 251

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and top contender Jorge Masvidal are en route to Las Vegas ahead of a potential showdown at Saturday’s UFC 251 event.

After Gilbert Burns dropped out of the Usman fight late Friday night after testing positive for COVID-19, the UFC has been working fast behind the scenes to secure a replacement fight between Usman and Masvidal. Both men have tweeted that they have agreed to the fight and now it comes down to the UFC getting the deal signed and having both men test negative for the coronavirus so they can fly to Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

Ahead of a potential showdown on Fight Island, ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported that both Usman and Masvidal are on the way to Las Vegas, Nevada, right now, indicating that a deal is done and all that’s left is for both men to head to Abu Dhabi. BJPenn.com’s own Cole Shelton has confirmed with sources that the Usman vs. Masvidal fight is a go as long as both men test negative. Helwani said the results should come in on Monday.

Kamaru Usman is on his way back to Las Vegas. As is Jorge Masvidal. https://t.co/qmsxZ3tj3o

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 5, 2020

Kamaru Usman is on his way back to Las Vegas. As is Jorge Masvidal.

Again, they’ll have to take a COVID test, quarantine and wait for the results, which should come tomorrow. If they pass, the first big hurdle is cleared. Feeling we won’t get an official announcement until that happens because no sense in getting everyone excited until cleared.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 5, 2020

Again, they’ll have to take a COVID test, quarantine and wait for the results, which should come tomorrow. If they pass, the first big hurdle is cleared. Feeling we won’t get an official announcement until that happens because no sense in getting everyone excited until cleared.

Confirmed with sources, Masvidal en route to Las Vegas right now. Everything is agreed to, one source said as long as COVID-19 test comes back negative for Masvidal “we got a main event” #UFC251 #UFCFightIsland

— Cole Shelton (@ColeShelton91) July 5, 2020

Confirmed with sources, Masvidal en route to Las Vegas right now. Everything is agreed to, one source said as long as COVID-19 test comes back negative for Masvidal “we got a main event” #UFC251 #UFCFightIsland

The UFC is attempting to get the Usman vs. Masvidal done on super short notice after it fell out due to contractual issues between Masvidal and the UFC. Masvidal wanted the UFC to give him a raise over the last fight he had with Nate Diaz at UFC 244 but the UFC was only willing to match what he got for that fight. With Masvidal stepping in on short notice, the UFC likely had to bend his way as far as the financials go to make the deal work. Of course, that is just speculation at this point as we won’t know until after the fight was the official purses were for both men.

How excited are you for Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251?