Jorge Masvidal's popularity has exploded in recent years since defeating Ben Askren with a flying knee in five seconds and Nate Diaz for the BMF belt.
But the legend of Masvidal can transcend the sport by dethroning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 251. It's a fight fans are ecstatic for.
"This is trending off the charts," UFC president Dana White said during a UFC 251 media scrum. "This thing is trending higher than a Conor McGregor fight. The only that this fight is comparable to is Conor vs. Khabib [Nurmagomedov]."
It's a fight fans won't want to miss, so here is what you need to know to watch the fight.
When and where to watch
UFC 251 takes place Saturday, July 11 and a UFC event is broken into three parts, with three diferent start times and available to watch in up to three different places.
The first part of the card, called the Early Prelims starts at 5 p.m. CT. These are the first fights of the night. Those fights will be streamed on ESPN+ or UFC Fight Pass.
News
The second part of the card, called the Prelims, starts at 7 p.m. CT. These fights will be aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
The main card hosts the three title fights, including Usman vs. Masvidal. The main card begins at 9 p.m. CT and is only available on ESPN+ on PPV.
How much will it cost
To watch the main card of UFC 251, viewers will need an ESPN+ subscription and purchase the pay-per-view for $64.99.
Where is UFC 251 and what is Fight Island
Because of COVID-19 and restrictions to sporting events in the United States, Dana White said he was procuring an island to host fights in a safe environment. For many, this drummed up a Fyre Festival idea of fights on a remote, tropical island.
In reality, the UFC is hosting UFC 251 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Yas Island is a large complex built to host sports and entertain, containing a Formula 1 race track. Abu Dhabi built the Flash Forum to host the actual event while also putting an Octagon on a beach.
What titles are on the line
There are three title fights:
- Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal
- Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway
- Vacant bantamweight title bout: Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo
Fight card & weigh-in results
Main PPV Card
Kamaru Usman (170) vs. Jorge Masvidal (170) - welterweight title
Alexander Volkanovski (145) vs. Max Holloway (145) - featherweight title
Petr Yan (135) vs. Jose Aldo (135) - bantamweight title
Jessica Andrade (115) vs. Rose Namajunas (116)
Amanda Ribas (126) vs. Paige VanZant (126)
Prelim Card
Volkan Oezdemir (205.5) vs. Jiri Prochazka (205)
Elizeu Zaleski (171) vs. Muslim Salikhov (171)
Makwan Amirkhani (146) vs. Danny Henry (146)
Leonardo Santos (156) vs. Roman Bogatov (155.5)
Early Prelims
Marcin Tybura (252) vs. Maxim Grishin (223)
Raulian Paiva (129)* vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (126)
Karol Rosa (136) vs. Vanessa Melo (141)*
Davey Grant (136) vs. Martin Day (136)
* - missed weight