Yahoo News UFC 251 LIVE: Jorge Masvidal challenges Kamaru Usman for welterweight title on short notice
UFC 251 takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi tonight and the card will be main-evented by Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman, who square off for the welterweight title.
Challenger Masvidal took the fight on six days’ notice after original contender Gilbert Burns was forced off the card with coronavirus, and ‘Gamebred’ will be taking to the Octagon without his head coach Mike Brown, who also contracted Covid-19 this week.
UFC’s first ‘Fight Island’ event also features two other championship bouts, as Max Holloway looks to reclaim his featherweight title from Australian Alexander Volkanovski – who dethroned the Hawaiian in December – while Russia’s Petr Yan takes on former featherweight king Jose Aldo for the vacant men’s bantamweight belt. There are plenty of other great contests lined up, too. Follow all the action here:
What time does the event start in the UK?
The main card starts at 3am BST on Sunday. The preliminary card begins at 1am BST, and the early prelims get underway at 11.30pm BST on Saturday.
Usman and Masvidal will likely make their ring walks for the main event at around 5am BST on Sunday.
How can I watch it?
The main card and prelims will air on BT Sport 1. Both of these parts of the show can also be streamed on the BT Sport app.
In order to watch the early prelims, viewers will need a UFC Fight Pass, with which subscribers can also watch the main card and prelims.
Who is going to win?
Champion Usman (16-1) is on a 15-fight win streak and is favoured in the main event, in part due to Masvidal accepting the fight on late notice.
However, Masvidal (35-13) went 3-0 in 2019, so he is in great form. He was also already training for a potential bout with Usman before this week’s developments, so he should not be counted out.
What’s the full card?
Main card
Kamaru Usman (C) vs Jorge Masvidal (welterweight)
Max Holloway vs Alexander Volkanovski (C) (featherweight)
Jose Aldo vs Petr Yan (vacant bantamweight title)
Rose Namajunas vs Jessica Andrade (women’s strawweight)
Paige VanZant vs Amanda Ribas (women’s flyweight)
Prelims
Volkan Oezdemir vs Jiri Prochazka (light heavyweight)
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs Muslim Salikhov (welterweight)
Makwan Amirkhani vs Mounir Lazzez (featherweight)
Leonardo Santos vs Roman Bogatov (lightweight)
Early prelims
Marcin Tybura vs Alexandr Romanov (heavyweight)
Raulian Paiva vs Zhalgas Zhumagulov (flyweight)
Karol Rosa vs Vanessa Melo (women’s bantamweight)
Martin Day vs Davey Grant (bantamweight)
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Masvidal to face Usman for welterweight title on six days’ notice
