Dana White confirms Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal, shares hype video with fans

UFC president Dana White confirmed that the reported bout between UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and top contender Jorge Masvidal is a go.

After testing positive for COVID-19, No. 1 contender Gilbert Burns was forced off of UFC 251 late Friday night, leaving Usman temporarily without an opponent. But the UFC was able to work quickly all weekend and in the end, the UFC was able to strike a deal between Usman and Masvidal to headline the UFC 251 card. The bout will take place next Saturday on Fight Island pending negative tests from the fighters and their teams for COVID-19.

With new reports leaking all over the Twittersphere, White himself has now confirmed that the Usman vs. Masvidal fight is on. The UFC president posted a hype video for the two welterweight rivals ahead of their showdown in just six days from now in Abu Dhabi.

Check out what White posted on his Instagram below.

That the UFC was able to finally get the deal done with Masvidal after months of a prolonged contract dispute speaks to how badly the promotion wanted to keep Usman on the card and go ahead with three title fights for the UFC 251 pay-per-view. Although the card was stacked aside from the headliner between Usman and Burns, once that fight fell off it became clear that the card needed more star power on it, leading to the UFC talking to Masvidal once again and finally agreeing to terms on the Usman fight.

The fight comes together after White and Masvidal publicly went head-to-head over the last few weeks while in a contract dispute. Masvidal even took to his YouTube channel recently to blast White for his comments that suggested fighting in MMA isn’t a real career.

“I want to address something actually cause of the Dana White thing. Dana White said the other day and maybe you can explain this, he said this is not a career, this is an opportunity,” Jorge Masvidal said recently. “I’ve been doing this for 16 years, s**t I’ve had a lot of opportunity, huh? That’s crazy. So, it’s not a career Dana White, that’s interesting to know man. I really think sometimes we don’t see eye-to-eye on anything you f*****g you say, bro. How is this not a career? It’s crazy.”

How happy are you that the UFC and Dana White were able to get the Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal fight done?