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Gilbert Burns was supposed to fight Kamaru Usman for the Welterweight Championship at UFC 251 on Fight Island. However, the Brazilian tested positive for COVID-19 and was instantly pulled out of the bout, replaced by Jorge Masvidal on six days' notice.
While Masvidal's presence undoubtedly helped the UFC 251 PPV reach its staggering 1.3 million buyrate, Dana White insisted that Gilbert Burns will be next in line for a title shot rather than Jorge Masvidal, who is itching for a rematch against Champion Kamaru Usman.
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Gilbert Burns took to social media to share the great news that he is officially COVID-19-free as of 16th July.
It's great to see that Gilbert Burns officially tested negative. However, he could have to wait for over six months as that's the length of time that Kamaru Usman has been medically suspended for. Of course, it all depends on whether he's cleared beforehand.
Ideally, a fight at the end of the year would pan out well for both of them.
Gilbert Burns' road to the Championship fight
Gilbert Burns' move to Welterweight has been an incredibly successful one. After a two-fight win streak, he moved to the 170-pound division where he defeated Alexey Kunchenko before going on a tear, getting dominant victories over Gunnar Nelson, Demian Maia, and most recently, former Champion, Tyron Woodley.
It was his one-sided victory over Tyron Woodley this past May that put him in contention for a UFC Welterweight Championship shot. It's not hard to see why the UFC chose to go with him as Kamaru Usman's original opponent.
It'll be interesting to see how they match-up when they eventually meet inside the Octagon. Daniel Cormier believes that if Kamaru Usman fought the way he did against Jorge Masvidal, he wouldn't have had the same success and that Gilbert Burns would have walked out the winner.
