Live, blow-by-blow updates for today’s UFC 259 mega-card from Vegas. This covers the preliminary card.
Join us today on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, round scoring, and play-by-play as UFC 259 goes down live at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Today’s monster show will be headlined by light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz against middleweight champ Israel Adesanya. In the co-main event, two-division champion and all-time great Amanda Nunes takes on Megan Anderson for Nunes’ women’s featherweight title. First up on the championship tripleheader is men’s bantamweight champion Petr Yan versus longtime contender Aljamain Sterling in what is Yan’s first title defense.
This post will cover the preliminary card. Every title fight will have its own play-by-play, and the non-title main card will have its own PBP post.
This is an earlier event start time than normal. There are SIX early prelims fights, which should kick off around 5:15 PM ET/2:15 PM PT on ESPN2 and ESPN+. Things will move to ESPN and ESPN+ for four more fights at 8 PM ET as usual, and then we’ll go over to PPV at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT.
Oh yeah, and we’re bringing Norkon back!
Full preliminary card lineup below:
Preliminary Card (8 PM ET, ESPN/ESPN+)
Dominick Cruz vs. Casey Kenney
Song Yadong vs. Kyler Phillips
Joseph Benavidez vs. Askar Askarov
Rogerio Bontorin vs. Kai Kara-France
Preliminary Card (5:15 PM ET, ESPN2/ESPN+)
Tim Elliott vs. Jordan Espinosa
Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Carlos Ulberg
Sean Brady vs. Jake Matthews
Amanda Lemos vs. Livia Renata Souza
Uros Medic vs. Aalon Cruz
Mario Bautista vs. Trevin Jones