One of the major obstacles in getting Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal in the octagon Saturday has been cleared. Masvidal (35-13 MMA, 12-6 UFC), who agreed to challenge Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC) for the welterweight title on six days’ notice in a crazy turn of events after Gilbert Burns was ruled out of the UFC 251 headliner, passed his initial COVID-19 test late Sunday. As a result, the UFC officially announced the championship bout, which airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass from Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Masvidal’s negative test result allows him to travel from Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi. According to ESPN, Masvidal will take a private plane booked by his First Round Management team, while Usman is expected to take the promotion’s charter flight scheduled to leave Monday evening from Las Vegas. Although the UFC now has thrown its promotional support behind the matchup, hurdles still remain.
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Jorge Masvidal passes COVID-19 test; UFC makes Kamaru Usman title fight official – MMA Junkie