A welterweight title bout between Kamaru
Usman and Gilbert
Burns will not take place at UFC 256 as originally
anticipated.
According to
ESPN, the fight has been postponed because Usman needs more
time to recover from undisclosed injuries, and it is unclear when
the bout might be rescheduled. According to the report, the
promotion has looked into booking Stipe
Miocic vs. Francis
Ngannou or Jorge
Masvidal vs. Colby
Covington for the card, but neither fight is close to being
finalized.
Usman and Burns were originally supposed to meet at UFC 251 in Abu
Dhabi on July 11, but Burns was forced to pull out of the contest
after testing positive for COVID-19. Instead, Usman made his second
successful title defense with a clear-cut five-round verdict
against Masvidal in the evening’s main event. “The Nigerian
Nightmare” has won 16 straight professional bouts – including 12 in
the UFC.
Burns experienced mixed results at lightweight but has rattled off
four consecutive victories since moving up to 170 pounds. That
streak includes a first-round stoppage of Demian Maia
at UFC Fight Night 170 and a lopsided five-round verdict over
ex-champ Tyron
Woodley at UFC on ESPN 9 on May 30. “Durinho” has won six
straight fights overall in the UFC, a run that includes a pair of
victories at 155 pounds.
UFC 256 takes place on Dec. 12 and features a women’s featherweight
title tilt between reigning champion Amanda
Nunes and Megan
Anderson.