What time is UFC 251 today? Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal schedule & main card start time for Fight Island

Dan Bernstein

What time is UFC 251 today? Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal schedule & main card start time for Fight Island image

After brief period in which it seemed fight fans would lose out on the UFC 251 main event, heated rivals Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal will square off on Saturday evening.

Usman was initially supposed to fight Gilbert Burns, but Burns tested positive for COVID-19 and was ruled out of the action. Masvidal then agreed to step up on short notice to challenge the man he's engaged in public spats with in the past.

"I'm happy because I get to break this guy's face and get paid for it," Masvidal said this week.

MORE: What is UFC's "Fight Island"?

Usman vs. Masvidal, along with the rest of the fights on the UFC 251 card, will unfold on "Fight Island" in Abu Dhabi.

Here's all the information you need to keep up with UFC 251 headliner action:

What time does UFC 251 start today?

  • Date: Saturday, July 11
  • Early prelims: 6 p.m. ET 
  • Prelims: 8 p.m. ET
  • PPV main card: 10 p.m. ET
  • Usman vs. Burns fight: 12:15 a.m. ET (approx.)

The TV action begins on ESPN at 6 p.m. ET for the early prelims and 8 p.m. ET for the regular prelims. The main card for UFC 251 starts at about 10 p.m. ET and should reach the final fight a shade past midnight.

Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal main card start time

The headline event between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal starts at about 12:15 a.m. ET but is dependent on how long earlier fights take to complete. The UFC 251 main card kicks off at 10 p.m. with a matchup between Amanda Ribas and Paige VanZant, and there are four fights in the main card before Usman vs. Masvidal.

What channel is UFC 251 on?

All prelim fights can be watched on TV via ESPN or online using the ESPN app. An ESPN+ subscription is required for the pay-per-view main card.

UFC 251 card

Main card

  • Kamaru Usman (c) vs. Jorge Masvidal for the UFC Welterweight Championship
  • Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Max Holloway for the UFC Featherweight Championship
  • Petr Yan vs. José Aldo for the vacant UFC Bantamweight Championship
  • Jéssica Andrade vs. Rose Namajunas; Women's Strawweight
  • Amanda Ribas vs. Paige VanZant; Women's Flyweight 

Prelims

  • Volkan Oezdemir vs. Jiří Procházka; Light Heavyweight
  • Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Muslim Salikhov; Welterweight
  • Makwan Amirkhani vs. Danny Henry; Featherweight
  • Leonardo Santos vs. Roman Bogatov; Lightweight

UFC Fight Pass Prelims

  • Marcin Tybura vs. Alexander Romanov; Heavyweight
  • Raulian Paiva vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov; Flyweight
  • Karol Rosa vs. Vanessa Melo; Women's Bantamweight
  • Davey Grant vs. Martin Day; Bantamweight

Dan Bernstein