Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal set as main event at UFC 251 - ESPN

2:52 PM ET

Kamaru Usman will face Jorge Masvidal in a welterweight title fight Saturday at UFC 251 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

The promotion announced the fight at midnight on Monday morning.

Masvidal has passed his coronavirus test, and both he and Usman will be leaving Las Vegas for Abu Dhabi later Monday, sources said. Usman will be on a charter flight and Masvidal will fly on a private jet, according to sources.

After arriving in Las Vegas Sunday, both fighters had to take a coronavirus test and then quarantine while awaiting the results. Had they not passed the tests, the fight would not have been able to go on.

The UFC worked to salvage Usman's presence on the card after Gilbert Burns was forced to withdraw Friday night.

For the past two months, the UFC and Masvidal were far apart on contract talks to make this fight happen. In the end, the UFC decided to walk away from negotiations about a month ago and gave the title fight to Burns, who recently beat former champion Tyron Woodley.

Afterward, Masvidal posted a series of tweets criticizing the UFC for its business practices, calling into question whether the relationship would be severed for some time. But once Burns was forced off the card late Friday night, momentum started to build for the original plan, which is a grudge match that has been months in the making. Usman and Masvidal have been embroiled in a heated feud that saw the duo get into a shouting match at Super Bowl media row in Miami earlier this year.

On Saturday afternoon, Usman tweeted, "Might be time for the pig to squeal," while Masvidal's co-manager posted a series of Instagram stories showing Masvidal on the phone with the caption "negotiating."

Of course, these days it's not as simple as just agreeing to a fight. Masvidal took and passed a coronavirus antibody test Saturday afternoon. That test shows whether an individual had been exposed to the coronavirus in the past but doesn't determine whether someone currently has the virus. So, at least one hurdle was cleared then. The fighters will still have to pass more coronavirus tests before fight night, as will all the fighters competing in Abu Dhabi this month.

Masvidal is considered one of the most popular fighters in the sport, with many believing he was the 2019 fighter of the year after picking up impressive wins over Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz. In addition to the welterweight title fight, the card also features Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway 2 for the featherweight title and Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo for the bantamweight title.

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