Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Starting at 5 p.m. ET today (Fri., Feb. 8, 2020) in the video player below!
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) can’t wait to promote the next fight for one if its brightest stars, Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, staging a press conference today (Fri., Feb. 7, 2020) at 5 p.m. ET at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, which is the scene for UFC 247’s pay-per-view (PPV) event tomorrow evening.
Adesanya will defend his unified 185-pound title for the first time against former title contender, Yoel Romero, at UFC 248 on March 7, 2020, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Romero has actually competed for the (interim) strap three times, but on two of those occasions he self-sabotaged with head-scratching scale fails. None of it mattered anyway — Romero was winless in the trio of attempts.
“The Last Stylebender” is perfect inside the Octagon (7-0), most recently lifting the belt off Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 back in Oct. 2019. Romero, meanwhile, is in the midst of a two-fight skid, the most recent of which was a unanimous decision loss to the rightful No. 1-ranked division contender, Paulo Costa, who is sidelined with injuries.
UFC 248’s inaugural pre-fight press conference, which will be emceed by company president Dana White, is free to attend and open to the public. Women’s Strawweight champion Zhang Weili — who collides with former titleholder and No. 4-ranked contender Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the co-main event — will also be on the dais.
In addition to expletive-laden trash talk and loosely-controlled chaos, a potentially volatile staredown will almost certainly be on today’s menu — you aren’t going to want to miss it. For those who aren’t in “Space City” today we’ve got you covered — the press conference will stream live in the video player above.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 247 fight card this weekend RIGHT HERE, starting with the Fight Pass/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 247: “Jones vs. Reyes” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.