On Friday, the UFC 261 weigh-ins took place, and all card fighters made the appropriate weights, including Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal.

Usman (18-1) vs Masvidal (35-14) is the main event for UFC 261, and passing the weigh-ins means the match is official and will happen. Usman weighed 169.5 pounds, and Masvidal hit the mark at 170 pounds.

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Usman is defending his UFC welterweight title against Masvidal in the main event of UFC 261 on Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida. The two fighters are familiar with one another as they previously faced off in UFC 251. Usman beat Masvidal via unanimous decision in that matchup last July.

Usman was originally scheduled to fight Gilbert Burns in UFC 251, but Burns tested positive for coronavirus, so Masvidal replaced Burns on six-day notice. This time, Masvidal has had enough time to prepare for the rematch.

Usman is currently on a 13-fight win streak and is looking for his 14th straight UFC victory and fourth title defense win. If Usman does win on Saturday, then the Nigerian would hold the second-place record for longest win streaks. The Nigerian fighter’s win streak is tied with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Jon Jones. Anderson Silva holds the record with 16 straight wins.

Masvidal is one of the most popular fighters on the UFC roster. The Florida native became one of the hottest fighters in 2019 with a three-fight win streak. In those three fights, he defeated Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz in a span of eight months to become one of the hottest MMA fighters. Unfortunately, the Florida native’s hot streak came to an end at the hands of Usman. This time, the Florida native will look to end the Nigerian fighter’s streak on Saturday.

UFC 261 will also feature two additional title defenses in the co-main event. Weili Zhang (21-1) will defend her women’s strawweight title against former champion Rose Namajunas (9-4). Zhang has not lost a fight since her debut loss. Namajunas has won four of her last five fights.

Valentina Shevchenko (20-3) will defend her flyweight title against Jessica Andrade (21-8).

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UFC President Dana White announced that UFC 261 will take place next month with no capacity limits for fans despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The event will be hosted at the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida with fans in full attendance. White said that the fight will take place on April 24 and that there may be upwards of 15,000 fans in the arena cheering on the action.

The UFC president did not confirm whether additional safety predictions, such as COVID-19 testing or face mask requirements would be implemented. 

UFC 261 will mark the first time that fighters will have an audience in North America since the beginning of the shutdown in March of 2020, according to The Associated Press. The events in the past year in America have been in empty arenas. They did hold events that included some spectators in Abu Dhabi earlier this year. 

Florida officials are still encouraging residents to “avoid congregating in groups larger than 10.” The state reported 3,699 COVID-19 cases on Sunday, according to The New York Times. Florida, similarly to other regions across the United States, has seen a sharp drop in cases since its peak in early January.