*** Update: Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal UFC 251 new main event is official! ***
Everything is more complicated in these Coronavirus days, and that includes the announcement of big UFC fights.
At this point, it’s all but official (actually, it’s now official): Jorge Masvidal will step in for the COVID-19 positive Gilbert Burns to face Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi. But, before UFC pulls the trigger on what we imagine is going to be a smorgasbord of promotional hype, the promotion is waiting for Masvidal to pass his own Coronavirus test.
Florida is one of the hardest hit states in the country for Coronavirus infections right now, and Miami went so far as to implement a curfew over Fourth of July weekend in an attempt to shift the curve down enough to avoid hospital disasters. Burns was a fellow Floridian fighter training at Henri Hooft’s gym in Fort Lauderdale, so it’s not like COVID-19 isn’t making its way through the gyms in the state.
So for now we watch and wait with bated breath as Jorge and Kamaru go through the required health protocol steps to be confirmed for this fight. With that in mind, here’s footage of “Street Jesus” leaving for Vegas via private jet, just another sign UFC is trying to minimize as many risks to both its fighters in these uncertain times.
After @GamebredFighter landed in Las Vegas, he had to just "stretch the legs, you know?"
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 5, 2020
(via @Abraham_kawa) pic.twitter.com/KJaaxjU4pP
“Just taking a stroll, don’t get all excited,” Masvidal jokes in the video. “Stretching the legs, you know?”
Not a bad idea! Once Masvidal gets to Vegas and tests negative for Coronavirus, he’ll be put on another plane to Abu Dhabi. Typical flight time to the United Arab Emirates? Nineteen hours.
Here’s Laura Sanko’s creeper shot of Masvidal checking into his Vegas hotel while he awaits testing:
Ohhh shit look who’s checking into the hotel in Vegas ....I’m beyond pumped for this fight #FightIsland pic.twitter.com/I8cPsDfMAe
— Laura Sanko (@laura_sanko) July 5, 2020
Also in Vegas: Kamaru Usman, who took the time to take a snap with fellow UFC fighter Aaron Phillips, who fights in Abu Dhabi on July 15, 2020.
Thanks Champ! @USMAN84kg Good Luck On everything this week & Great Skill Saturday!! #UFCFightIsland pic.twitter.com/1fzgftD3QH
— Aaron Phillips (@HEADKICKS_MMA) July 5, 2020
We still don’t like seeing anyone less than six feet apart, though! WHAT IS HE EVEN DOING IN A POPULATED SPACE! Please, someone put these two men in giant inflatable hamster bubbles RIGHT NOW!