UFC women’s strawweight Zhang Weili lifts heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou
Israel Adesanya defends his middleweight title against Alex Pereira in the UFC 281 main event at Madison Square Garden tonight, as the champion looks to avenge two kickboxing defeats to his challenger.
Adesanya is unbeaten at middleweight in mixed martial arts, his sole professional loss having come while challenging for light heavyweight gold last year. But the Nigerian-born New Zealander’s kickboxing career involved a few losses, with Brazilian Pereira having outpointed Adesanya in 2016 and knocked out the “Last Stylebender” in 2017. Pereira, 35, is 6-1 in MMA, having won five of those bouts via knockout while being fast-tracked to a title shot in New York City tonight.
In the co-main event, Carla Esparza begins her second reign as women’s strawweight champion with a title defence against Zhang Weili, who held the belt between 2019 and 2021. In her last outing, the Chinese fighter knocked out icon Joanna Jedrzejczyk with a spinning back elbow, while Esparza outpointed Zhang’s recent rival Rose Namajunas to claim the gold. In the night’s other featured bout, Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler meet in a huge lightweight clash. Follow live round-by-round updates from the UFC 281 main card and prelims, below.
UFC 281 LIVE
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UFC 281 LIVE
Adesanya’s run to the middleweight title, and his reign since, have been phenomenal.
The 33-year-old claimed the belt within 18 months of making his UFC debut, and he has retained it five times since winning it.
Alex Pattle13 November 2022 05:25
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UFC 281 LIVE
Adesanya said he wants this fight to be a “horror movie”. Well, his walkout is Saw-themed.
Alex Pattle13 November 2022 05:24
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Now here comes the “Last Stylebender”, one of the most dynamic strikers in MMA.
Will he use his greater experience in the sport to grapple Pereira at all tonight?
Alex Pattle13 November 2022 05:22
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UFC 281 LIVE
An ominous entrance from Pereira.
Alex Pattle13 November 2022 05:21
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UFC 281 LIVE
Pereira is a former two-weight kickboxing champion, with incredible power in his striking.
Alex Pattle13 November 2022 05:21
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UFC 281 LIVE
In 2016, Pereira outpointed Adesanya in a kickboxing bout.
Pereira then knocked out the Nigerian-born New Zealander in 2017, also in a kickboxing clash.
Alex Pattle13 November 2022 05:19
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Middleweight champion Adesanya is 23-1 in mixed martial arts, the 33-year-old’s sole loss having come while challenging for light heavyweight gold last year.
Meanwhile, Pereira is 6-1 in MMA, with five knockout victories to his name. The Brazilian, 35, is 3-0 in the UFC since debuting in the promotion 12 months ago.
Alex Pattle13 November 2022 05:18
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The UFC has confirmed that UFC 284 in Perth next February will feature an interim featherweight title bout…
Yair Rodriguez faces Josh Emmett, on the same card as the lightweight title fight between featherweight champ Volkanovski and Makhachev.
Alex Pattle13 November 2022 05:16
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While we wait for the fighters to make their ring walks, there’s still time to check out our main-event preview…
Alex Pattle13 November 2022 05:12
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UFC 281 LIVE
One fight left: Israel Adesanya defends the middleweight title against Alex Pereira, who holds two kickboxing wins over the UFC champion – including a knockout.
Alex Pattle13 November 2022 05:11