The UFC will serve up its biggest card of the year on Saturday night. UFC 251, the promotion’s first event on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, features a trio of title fights at the top of the bill, with the main event coming together in less than a week. Following Gilbert Burns needing to drop out due to a positive COVID-19 test, Jorge Masvidal will step into the Octagon to challenge for Kamaru Usman’s welterweight title.
This isn’t the only big event on Saturday involving the UFC and Masvidal. It was announced that the Miami native will appear on the cover of UFC 4 alongside middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
On Fight Island and on the cover
Jorge Masvidal and Israel Adesanya are your #UFC4 Cover Athletes
@GamebredFighter @stylebender pic.twitter.com/YHg81EMUax
— EA SPORTS UFC (@EASPORTSUFC) July 11, 2020
“I am the face of a new wave of UFC fighters, so it feels right to represent the sport on this new generation UFC game,” Adesanya said in a release, per Game Informer. “I look forward to my fans playing as me as much as I have enjoyed playing as myself.”
“MMA is more than about the belt,” Masvidal said in the release. “It’s about who you are as a person and the determination that drives a fighter to go from unknown to selling out arenas all over the world. I grew up backyard fighting so it’s exciting for me to see that style of fighting come to UFC 4 where players can bring out their Gamebred mentality.”
The first UFC release from EA Sports since 2018, UFC 4‘s trailer — which features both cover athletes and shows off the game’s Backyard and Kumite environments — was also released.
First look at the UFC 4 trailer that drops on August 14
(via @PlayStation)pic.twitter.com/mBTjFwRJp3
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 11, 2020
UFC 4 is available for pre-order now on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It drops on August 14, and as an added incentive, those who pre-order the game will get heavyweight boxers Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua as playable characters.