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NEW YORK — Israel Adesanya will search his sixth protection of the UFC’s middleweight championship Saturday, when he meets acquainted rival in Alex Pereira at UFC 281 inside Madison Sq. Backyard.
Adesanya (23-1) has received greater than thrice as many MMA contests as Pereira (6-1) has even competed in, however the UFC accelerated this matchup because of their historical past. Pereira holds two victories over Adesanya in skilled kickboxing, together with a vicious knockout in 2017.
It is an ideal narrative for Adesanya’s newest title protection, and will preclude a extremely technical battle. Pereira has completed two of his three UFC opponents by way of knockout.
Within the co-main occasion, two-time strawweight champion Carla Esparza (19-6) is a major underdog in opposition to former champion Zhang Weili (22-3), though Esparza has thrived within the underdog function earlier than. Additionally, light-weight fan favorites Dustin Poirier (28-7) and Michael Chandler (23-7) sq. off and icon Frankie Edgar makes the ultimate Octagon stroll of his profession as he faces Chris Gutierrez.
Observe alongside as Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim recap the motion or watch the fights reside on ESPN+ PPV.
Combat in progress
Bantamweight: Julio Arce (18-5, 5-3 UFC, +175) vs. Montel Jackson (11-2, 5-2 UFC, -210)
UFC 281 outcomes
Gentle heavyweight: Carlos Ulberg (8-1, 3-1 UFC) def. Nicolae Negumereanu (13-2, 4-2 UFC) by TKO (Watch this battle on ESPN+)
In his first MMA look in New York, Ulberg placed on an absolute present in a first-round end in opposition to Negumereanu. Ulberg instantly compromised Negumereanu’s lead left leg with calf kicks, earlier than dropping him with an ideal left hook within the middle of the cage. The end got here at 3:44 of the spherical.
Ulberg is certainly one of 4 members of New Zealand’s Metropolis Kickboxing staff competing tonight, and he actually obtained them off to a scorching begin. It was a flawless efficiency, as Negumereanu was solely credited with two strikes landed, neither of which had any impact on Ulberg.
The 31-year-old improves to 3-0 in his final three fights and 3-1 total within the UFC since coming off Contender Sequence in 2020.
Nonetheless to return:
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Middleweight championship: Israel Adesanya (c) (23-1, 12-1 UFC, -220) vs. Alex Pereira (6-1, 3-0 UFC, +180)
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Strawweight championship: Carla Esparza (c) (20-6, 10-4 UFC, +270) vs. Zhang Weili (22-3, 6-2 UFC, -340)
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Light-weight: Dustin Poirier (28-7 1 NC, 20-6 1 NC UFC, -230) vs. Michael Chandler (23-7, 2-2 UFC, +190)
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Bantamweight: Frankie Edgar (23-10-1, 18-10-1 UFC, +190) vs. Chris Gutierrez (18-3-2, 6-1-1 UFC, -230)
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Light-weight: Dan Hooker (21-12, 11-8 UFC, -155) vs. Claudio Puelles (13-2, 5-1 UFC, +130)
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Light-weight: Brad Riddell (10-3, 4-2 UFC, +105) vs. Renato Moicano (16-5-1, 8-5 UFC, -125)
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Gentle heavyweight: Dominick Reyes (12-3, 6-3 UFC, -220) vs. Ryan Spann (20-7, 6-2 UFC, +180)
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Girls’s flyweight: Molly McCann (13-4, 6-3 UFC, +310) vs. Erin Blanchfield (9-1, 3-0 UFC, -400)
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Middleweight: Andre Petroski (8-2, 3-0 UFC, -200) vs. Wellington Thurman (18-5, 3-3 UFC, +170)
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Light-weight: Matt Frevola (9-3-1, 3-3-1 UFC, +125) vs. Ottman Azaitar (13-0, 2-0 UFC, -150)
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Strawweight: Karolina Kowalkiewicz (13-7, 6-7 UFC, -105) vs. Silvana Gómez Juárez (11-4, 1-2 UFC, -115)
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Males’s featherweight: Michael Trizano (10-3, 3-3 UFC, +145) vs. SeungWoo Choi (10-5, 3-4 UFC, -170)
(c) = defending champion
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