UFC’s Dana White: Jorge Masvidal-Kamaru Usman happening in July

Jorge Masvidal’s resurgent 2019 might not translate into an immediate big payday fight against Conor McGregor, but it appears he will get the next best thing: a UFC title shot.

During an appearance on Jim Rome’s radio show and Will Cain’s ESPN radio show Friday as part of Super Bowl week festivities, Dana White said that Masvidal (pictured above) will challenge welterweight champion Kamaru Usman during July’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas. 

“That fight’s happening,” he said while airing frustrations about the verbal pull-apart conflict Masvidal and Usman had on Radio Row Wednesday while doing media. No agreements have been signed as of this writing.

White also told Rome that a Masvidal win might mean a subsequent title defense in his hometown of Miami, Florida. The UFC has only held one event in that city, UFC 42 back in 2003, headlined by then-welterweight champion Matt Hughes defeating Sean Sherk in front of less than 7000 people.

There was some hope Masvidal and McGregor would fight after McGregor’s dominant win over Donald Cerrone in January when Masvidal was in attendance. White, however, seems convinced on making the McGregor-Khabib Nurmagomedov rematch happen if the UFC lightweight champion can defeat Tony Ferguson in April.

Masvidal is coming off a November TKO win over Nate Diaz for the newly-created promotional tool known as the BMF title while Usman finished rival Colby Covington in December for Usman’s first title defense.