UFC News: Early Look at Usman vs Burns, More UFC 251 Title Bouts at Fight Island

After weeks of anticipation, the undisclosed location of Fight Island has been revealed along with a trio of title fights set to headline UFC 251 on July 11. 

While the initial rumors of Fight Island conjured up images of a private island owned by the UFC with a beachside Octagon, the reality is the new location is on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Company president Dana White announced the location on Twitter. 

It's a venue that is familiar to the UFC. It last held an event on the island at UFC 242, but the new facility will be isolated from the rest of the population and expanded to include training facilities, a hotel and dining, per Brett Okamoto of ESPN.

The new venue, which will allow the UFC to put on international events during the coronavirus pandemic, is playing host to a huge card in its return.

Okamoto reported that Gilbert Burns will be challenging Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title, Alexander Volkanovski will defend his featherweight title against Max Holloway in a rematch and Petr Yan and Jose Aldo will compete for the vacant bantamweight title. 

Three title fights is as good as it gets on a pay-per-view card, and itspeaks to how committed the organization is to getting Fight Island off to a strong start.

Let's take an early look at the championship fights and what to expect. 

Gilbert Burns vs. Kamaru Usman

Burns is the beneficiary of good timing and failed negotiations with some of the other top contenders in the welterweight division.

Ariel Helwani of ESPN reported that both Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards were initially targets for this bout:

For Masvidal, the issue appears to come down to money. He has expressed frustration with his UFC contract and the way the company does business publicly. Edwards was not available because of the difficulty surrounding travel from the United Kingdom. 

Just because Burns was the third option doesn't mean it will be an easy fight for the champion, though. The Brazilian is still a relatively unknown commodity but his performance against Tyron Woodley on May 30 bore a strong resemblance to the one Usman put in against the former champion to win the belt in March 2019. 

In Burns' fight against Woodley, the South American turned out to be the quicker fighter and won the striking exchanges. He was also the stronger grappler.

Both fighters wound up with identical 50-44. 50-44, 50-45 scorecards against T-Wood, and both recorded two takedowns against the former wrestler. 

The odds are likely to make Usman a decent favorite. He's a more-established elite fighter. Not only did he end Woodley's reign but he also shut down Colby Covington's hype train, and the belt still means something. 

However, Burns will be a live dog here. He has yet to face the competition Usman has seen, but his second-biggest win was over what was left of Demian Maia in March. But if he looks anything like he did against Woodley two weeks ago, he's going to bring the fight in what could be a five-round classic. 

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway

For the second time in as many fights, Volkanovski and Holloway will serve as the co-main event to an Usman title defense. The two fought in December 2019 on the same card as the Nigerian's win over Covington. 

The fight showcased just how good Volkanovski is, but it felt like a tale of two fights. 

Holloway, known for slow starts, was taken completely out of his game in the opening rounds. Volkanovski took a page out of Jose Aldo's playbook and blasted the Hawaiian with leg kicks. It served its purpose, as Blessed struggled to adjust and lost the early rounds convincingly. 

As the fight progressed, the former champion fans are used to seeing emerged. He was able to turn the fight into a brawl, and the championship rounds were close and competitive. That would explain the disparity in scores, as Volkanovski took a clean sweep 50-45 according to one card but only one 48-47 on two more. 

In many rematches, the terms of engagement are already set. We're just watching the mediocre sequel of the same movie. This one seems to have legitimate questions that need to be answered, though. Will Volkanovski be able to employ the same leg-kick-heavy strategy? Will the second fight just pick up where the last one left off, or will Holloway get off to a slow start again?

Both fighters have a history of throwing a ton of volume and putting on some great fights. This will compete with the main event for Fight of the Night. 

Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo

They can't all be winners. 

The main and co-main events seem like guaranteed fireworks. This might end up being a good fight, but it's far from the best one the bantamweight division has to offer. 

Just a week after watching Aljamain Sterling and Cody Garbrandt put on stellar performances, there are plenty of great fights on the bantamweight horizons. This is not one of them, though. 

Aldo is getting this title shot as a lifetime achievement award and on account of being one of the most recognizable names in the division. The Brazilian is one of the greatest featherweights of all time, but he is just 3-5 in his last eight fights, starting with his knockout loss to Conor McGregor. 

He's only fought once at bantamweight too, and it was a less-than-convincing split-decision loss to Marlon Moraes. With respect to Moraes' abilities, Yan has looked much more promising than the former World Series of Fighting veteran. 

Yan is 6-0 in the UFC against escalating competition. While Aldo is in the twilight of his career, the 27-year-old is either in his prime or approaching it with every fight. His only career loss came in 2016.

Maybe Aldo has one more magical performance in him and we see the resurrection of a living legend. But it seems more likely we see a coronation of a future king with a lot of exciting matchups in his future.