Return Of The BMF: Usman Vs. Masvidal At UFC 251 ‘Appears Inevitable’

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All signs are pointing towards Kamaru Usman facing Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251. Now the UFC just has to get them to Abu Dhabi COVID-free.

Here’s you’re morning update regarding the status of the potential late replacement Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal welterweight title fight at UFC 251 on July 11th: Things are looking very, very good.

According to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, “talks are moving in a positive direction.”

“This morning it seemed like a long shot that this fight would happen,” Helwani told ESPN Sports Center. “Now, it seems barring any last minute hiccups … and there are still a few more hurdles that they have to jump over people are very confident that in exactly seven days from now people are going to see one of the most anticipated fights of 2020. A fight that we didn’t think is going to happen, now it seems like maybe the UFC’s most bitter feud is actually going to play out.”

The big challenge now isn’t the money issue but getting Usman and Masvidal through the gauntlet of coronavirus tests and flights required to get them both to Abu Dhabi. And yes, it is key that they do indeed make it to Fight Island.

It’s important to understand that as much as this is a sporting event, it’s also a massive marketing campaign for Abu Dhabi. They’ve been trying to shuck off the stigma of being the remote country Garfield mails Nermal for years. Dubai has been throwing around literally hundreds of millions of dollars sportswashing their country, and Abu Dhabi has similar stacks of cash devoted to presenting the United Arab Emirates as a place to visit and do business and not get cut into several pieces with a hacksaw or arrested for kissing on the beach. (Just to be clear, Dubai did all that, not Abu Dhabi.)

Honestly, I’d be surprised if Abu Dhabi weren’t the ones leaning on Dana White to pay whatever money is needed to get Masvidal and Usman on board.

So let’s cross our fingers and hope all the Coronavirus tests come back negative and sudden surges in Florida don’t shut down outgoing flights before both men can get on a chartered plane. Because barring a COVID-19 positive test, it looks like UFC 251 just got a whole lot more epic.