6 burning questions heading into UFC 251

It’s a little ironic that the one time the UFC can’t do an “International Fight Week,” the promotion’s annual blowout July card is as international as it’s ever been.

The worldwide coronavirus pandemic caused UFC 251 to get moved to “Fight Island,” a.k.a. Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. There, Saturday night’s card will be topped with three title fights featuring competitors with roots in locations as disparate as the mainland U.S., Nigeria, Hawaii, Australia, Russia and Brazil. 

With Jorge Masvidal replacing Gilbert Burns on short notice in the welterweight title main event against champion Kamaru Usman, Alexander Volkanovski defending the featherweight belt against the man from whom he took the belt, Max Holloway, and Petr Yan challenging former longtime featherweight kingpin Jose Aldofor the vacant bantamweight belt, there are no lack of storylines heading into the grand opening of the UFC’s July run of shows in the Middle East.

The UFC 251 main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

Without further ado, then, here are six burning questions heading into UFC 251.

Is this Jorge Masvidal’s moment of truth?

UFC 251 got an undeniable boost when Masvidal (35-13 MMA, 12-6 UFC) stepped in on a week’s notice to fight Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC).

Masvidal is by far the biggest name associated with this show, the sort who will bring viewers who might have previously been on the fence about buying the show into the fold. 

If you look at this one way, you can paint this as the ultimate win-win situation for Masvidal: “Gamebred” says he got close to the money had asked for during his recent holdout in order to take this fight. He gets the title shot which has eluded him in his long career and the opportunity to take things to yet another level. And if he loses? Well, he was the guy who was willing to fly to the Middle East on short notice to save a show and take on an enormous challenge. Who would hold that against Masvidal?

But it’s not quite that simple. The stakes are, in fact, enormous. Masvidal has fought for 17 years and 48 official fights (and that’s not counting his Miami backyard roots) to get himself into this position. He has to fight an absolute killer in Usman, and no matter how his team tries to spin it, he obviously hasn’t had a full training camp. If he wins, his ascension to superstardom is complete. If he falters, he falls back into the pack at age 35. 

But then, fortune favors the bold, and that’s exactly what makes this a can’t-miss fight.