REPORTS: Kamaru Usman Will Defend His Welterweight Title on February 13

For the third time, the UFC has booked a fight between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns. The two are reportedly set to clash in February next year. The location of the fight is yet to be decided.

Combate first reported the news that the two welterweights have reached a verbal agreement to fight at UFC 258 in the first quarter of 2021. There is no confirmation if the title fight will be the main event or not. However, as of now, there aren’t any major fights lined up for around the same time. Thus, there are high chances that the fight will headline UFC 258.

As per Combate, Abu Dhabi is listed as a possible destination for the fight. Coincidentally, the first time that the UFC booked a fight between the two was at UFC 251 on the very first event at Fight Island. However, Gilbert Burns had to pull out after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Jorge Masvidal served as a replacement for Burns and faced Usman on short notice. Due to the hype behind Fight Island and Masvidal stepping in on short notice, UFC 251 became the most successful PPV event of the year so far. However, Masvidal was unable to dethrone Usman, who won the fight via a unanimous decision.

The UFC had booked Kamaru Usman vs Gilbert Burns the second time for UFC 256

After the first failed booking, the UFC targeted a fight between the two in December. However, this time around, the champ pulled out of the fight as he felt he needed a bit more time to prepare.

Usman is riding a twelve fight win streak in the UFC welterweight. With a win over Burns, he will overtake Georges St-Pierre for the longest win streak in the division. In his recent outings, the only fighter who has given him any trouble was Colby Covington at UFC 245. The fight went over four rounds with the two welterweights engaging in a striking fest only for Usman to come out as the winner.

On the other hand, Burns has looked phenomenal ever since he moved up to welterweight. His last two wins have been over Demian Maia and former champion, Tyron Woodley. The fighters have plenty of experience of going back-and-forth in training. Thus it will be noteworthy to see how the fight between them plays out.

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