How to watch UFC 251 Usman vs Masvidal live in Ireland

UFC 251 has fight fans bursting with anticipation over the best card put together since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. There is huge interest in the location. Back in April, president Dana White revealed the UFC had a mysterious venue called “Fight Island”. It has since been announced as Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. There are four events scheduled there in July.

There are three title belts on the line in UFC 251, one of which has already been rocked by a positive COVID-19 test by welterweight Gilbert Burns. The UFC found a replacement in just six days and the main event is now Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal. Alexander Volkanovski also defends his featherweight crown in a rematch with Max Holloway. Read on for all the details.

When is UFC 251?

UFC 251 is being held on Sunday 12 July in the United Arab Emirates. The preliminary card starts at 1am IST on Sunday with four fights. There are then five more bouts on the main card starting from 3am Sunday IST. Masvidal faces Usman in the main event. Volkanovski’s clash with Holloway is the co-main event and Petr Yan will take on Jose Aldo. The last fight is for the vacant bantamweight title following Henry Cejudo’s retirement.

How to watch UFC 251 Usman vs Masvidal

In Ireland, the broadcast rights are split between BT Sport and UFC Fight Pass. The early prelims are on UFC Fight Pass, with the prelims then on BT Sport and Fight Pass. The main card is then live and exclusive to BT Sport.

It is being shown on BT Sport 1. Subscribers can also stream it on the BT Sport app or BT Sport Player. If you are not already a subscriber, you can get unlimited access to BT Sport for £25/month and there are no lock-in contracts.

Watch UFC 251 Usman vs Masvidal on UFC Fight Pass

The early prelims and prelims are only on sports streaming service UFC Fight Pass. There are two subscription models for UFC Fight Pass: €9.99/month or €89.99 for an annual pass. New subscribers can access a free seven-day trial.

It is accessible on a wide range of devices, including iOS, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, ROKU, Xbox, LG and Samsung smart TVs and SONY TVs with Android TV.

UFC 251 full card

Main card

• Welterweight: Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal
• Featherweight: Alex Volkanovski vs Max Holloway
• Bantamweight: Petr Yan vs Jose Aldo
• Women’s strawweight: Rose Namajunas vs Jessica Andrade
• Women’s flyweight: Amanda Ribas vs Paige VanZant

Preliminary card

• Light heavyweight: Jiri Prochazka vs Volkan Oezdemir
• Welterweight: Muslim Salikhov vs Elizeu Dos Santos
• Featherweight: Makwan Amirkhani vs Danny Henry
• Lightweight: Leonardo Santos vs Roman Bogatov

Who will win UFC 251 Usman vs Masvidal?

What an incredible schedule of fights there are for MMA fans. Holloway will be determined to square the ledger with Volkanovski and we think the American is a big chance. Many also feel veteran Aldo is fortunate to get a chance for a vacant belt against Yan. It will be some upset if Aldo manages to become a two-division champion.

As for the main event, Usman has a highly impressive 16-1 win-loss record and hasn’t lost a fight since way back in 2013. He takes on Masvidal, his original opponent for this fight before contractual issues got in the way. Masvidal is 35-13 from his 48 fights, winning all 3 fights he contested in 2019. This is a tight one to call, but it’s hard to lean towards anyone but Usman right now whenever he enters the Octagon.

Image source: Main Event website