Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will defend his division title against undefeated 185-pound bruiser Paulo Costa after more than a year of back-and-forth beef on social media. Elsewhere on the card, scheduled to take place on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, Dominick Reyes collides with fellow light heavyweight slugger Jan Blachowicz for the vacant 205-pound strap. Fun!
Event: UFC 253: “Adesanya vs. Costa”
Date: Sat., Sept. 26, 2020
Location: Flash Forum on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Broadcast: ESPN2, ESPN+ PPV
UFC 253 PPV Main Event:
185 lbs.: UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa
UFC 253 PPV Main Card on ESPN+ (10 p.m. ET):
205 lbs.: Dominick Reyes vs. Jan Blachowicz
125 lbs.: Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Royval
135 lbs.: Ketlen Vieira vs. Sijara Eubanks
145 lbs.: Hakeem Dawodu vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
UFC 253 Prelims Card on ESPN2/ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET):
155 lbs.: Brad Riddell vs. Alex Da Silva
170 lbs.: Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Matthews
145 lbs.: Ludovit Klein vs. Shane Young
205 lbs.: Aleksa Camur vs. William Knight
UFC 253 Prelims Card on ESPN2/ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):
265 lbs.: Juan Espino vs. Jeff Hughes
205 lbs.: Khadis Ibragimov vs. Danilo Marques
***Fight card, bout order and the amount of matches subject to drastic change because of the various global quarantine restrictions.***
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 253 fight card this weekend RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN 2/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance (also on ESPN 2/ESPN+) at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
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