BREAKING | Emil Meek May Have Just Saved His Fight With Kamaru Usman at UFC 219

UFC 219 feels like a cursed card. The main event was constantly up in the air, a fight between Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm was in limbo, Dominick Cruz pulled out with an injury, and Kamaru Usman is basically the hardest person to find a fight for on the roster. Finally, Emil Meek was made official as the opponent for the surging welterweight contender, but eventually even that match-up looked to be off due to Meek’s United States visa trouble. He told us that he intends on showing up at UFC 219, and it looks like he kept his word. Emil Meek has just received the visa that will allow him to fight.

Great news for @emilvalhalla: he has officially received his US visa. Meek tells me he is awaiting word from the UFC as to whether his 219 fight versus @USMAN84kg is still on. Hoping to get that today. pic.twitter.com/ODlUmcYRH7

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 1, 2017

“If I get the visa I ordered, then definitely, yes, for sure [I’ll be fighting Kamaru Usman at UFC 219]. That’s basically what I can tell you. The thing is, they told me it’s either a 10-day thing or it takes six months, or anything in between it. That’s all. The UFC office just told me to have patience. … The question is not about if I’m getting it or not; it’s just when I get it, if I can get it in time. I got a letter from the Nevada senate and they told me that they understand that time is of the essence and they will recommend to prioritize this application and all of that, but it typically would take six months.” — Emil Meek on Monday’s The MMA Hour.

I fucking got it!!!!! Great news for everybody not named @USMAN84kg!
Christmas miracle🎉💝#valhallaarmy #ufc219 #proteinfabrikken #betsafe pic.twitter.com/jJePNsPTzP

— Emil Valhalla Meek (@emilvalhalla) December 1, 2017

Ariel Helwani stresses that there is no official word from the UFC, but being that this piece of paper was the only thing standing in the way of the scrap with Kamaru Usman, hopefully we have the fight set for the Las Vegas card. While unranked at the time, Meek’s wins over Jordan Mein and Rousimar Palhares are nothing to turn your nose up at. Kamaru Usman has been undefeated since 2013 and is on a 10-fight win streak. He’s just one of the many welterweights who are fighting to get close to that title shot with Tyron Woodley.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 12/1/2017.