UFC returns to Madison Square Garden for the fifth time in historical past on Saturday for UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira. With two titles on the road, and a loaded foremost card it won’t boast any mainstream eye-popping names for informal followers, nevertheless it’s a deal with for battle followers.
The foremost occasion battle between Israel Adesanya (c) and Alex Pereira is without doubt one of the most fascinating in latest reminiscence. This is Adesanya’s seventh time defending the UFC Middleweight title, since he unified the belt towards Robert Whittaker in Australia in 2019.
Adesanya’s vary, attain and putting is unparalleled within the weight class, placing on clinic after clinic along with his kickboxing — however the draw back to that is that whereas Adesanya is a degree machine, he doesn’t actually end fights. His final 4 have all resulted in choice, and followers are rising bored with efficient, environment friendly preventing with out a lot flash.
Enter Alex Pereira, who would possibly convey the x-factor wanted to make this battle pop. An thrilling, versatile fighter — Pereira has been awarded efficiency of the evening in two of his three UFC fights, ending with a primary spherical knockout and flying knee respectively. Another wrinkle is his kickboxing background, which shares plenty of DNA with Adesanya. The duo have met twice in GLORY, with Pereira successful each bouts.
If anybody goes to take the belt he may need the perfect shot, even being a relative newcomer to MMA with solely seven skilled fights. If anybody can coax some pleasure out of Adesanya it’s Pereira.
Full UFC 281 card and learn how to watch
Date: Saturday, November twelfth
Time: The Early Preliminary Card begins at 6 p.m. ET, with the Preliminary Card set to begin at 8 p.m. ET, adopted by the Main Card beginning at 10 p.m. ET.
Streaming: ESPN+ has unique streaming rights within the United States. It requires a pre-existing ESPN+ subscription, adopted by a $75 payment to purchase the primary card. The prelims might be out there free of charge with ESPN+, and the early prelims can be found with UFC Fight Pass.
Main card (ESPN+)
- Middleweight Championship: Israel Adesanya (c) vs.Alex Pereira
- Women’s Strawweight Championship: Carla Esparza (c) vs. Zhang Weili
- Lightweight: Dustin Poirier vs.Michael Chandler
- Bantamweight: Frankie Edgar vs. Chris Gutiérrez
- Lightweight: Dan Hooker vs. Claudio Puelles
Preliminary Card (ESPNews / ESPN+)
- Lightweight: Brad Riddell vs. Renato Moicano
- Light Heavyweight: Dominick Reyes vs. Ryan Spann
- Women’s Flyweight: Molly McCann vs. Erin Blanchfield
- Middleweight: Andre Petroski vs. Wellington Turman
Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
- Lightweight: Matt Frevola vs. Ottman Azaitar
- Women’s Strawweight: Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Silvana Gómez Juárez
- Featherweight: Michael Trizano vs. Choi Seung-woo
- Bantamweight: Julio Arce vs. Montel Jackson
- Light Heavyweight: Carlos Ulberg vs. Nicolae Negumereanu