“The Last Stylebender” will take over the Big Apple again on Saturday, November 12, as Israel Adesanya defends his middleweight title against Brazilian knockout artist Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Fighting in ‘the most famous arena in the world’ for the first time since a knockout of Derek Brunson’s performance of the night in 2018, Adesanya will now put his undisputed 185-pound title on the line for the sixth time against Pereira, who is undefeated in three UFC fights, including a late July one from Sean Strickland, and boasts a pair of kickboxing wins over Adesanya.
How to order UFC 281 in your country
In the co-main event, Carla Esparza puts her strawweight title on the line against former champion Zhang Weili. Plus, top-ranked lightweights Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler go head-to-head in a can’t-miss fight on the main card.
UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira Preliminaries kicking off Saturday, November 12 at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT in the US on ESPN+ and UFC Battle Pass. The Preliminaries airs at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on ESP News and the Main board will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+ in the US at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
The Main Event and Co-Main Event are both scheduled for five rounds. All other bouts scheduled for three rounds.
UFC 281: Adesanya vs Pereira Official weigh-in results:
MAIN BOARD
Main event – Middleweight Title Fight: Israel Adesanya (185) vs. Alex Pereira (184.6)
Co-Main Event – Women’s Strawweight Title Fight: Carla Esparza (114.8) vs. Zhang Weili (114.8)
Lightweight bout: Dustin Poirier (156) vs. Michael Chandler (155.8)
Preview fight by fight | UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira
Bantamweight fight: Frankie Edgar (135.6) vs. Chris Gutierrez (136)
Lightweight 3-round bout: Dan Hooker (155.8) vs. Claudio Puelles (155.2)
PRELIMINARY
Lightweight bout: Brad Riddell (155.6) vs. Renato Moicano (155.8)
Light Heavyweight Fight: Dominick Reyes (205.4) vs. *Ryan Spann (206.6)
Commander UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira
Women’s Flyweight Fight: Erin Blanchfield (125) vs. Molly McCann (125.4)
Middleweight bout: Andre Petroski (185.8) vs. Wellington Turman (185.2)
PRELIMINARY
Lightweight bout: Matt Frevola (154.8) vs. Ottman Azaitar (155.6)
Women’s Strawweight Fight: Karolina Kowalkiewicz (115.6) vs. Silvana Gomez Juarez (115.6)
Featherweight Fight: **Michael Trizano (147.6) vs. Seungwoo Choi (145.6)
MORE UFC 281: Michael Chandler | Esparza vs. Zhang Breakdown | Alex Pereira | Zhang Weili | Rankings Impacts | Frankie Edgar | Breakdown between Adesanya and Pereira
Bantamweight bout: Julio Arce (135.8) vs. Montel Jackson (135.8)
Light Heavyweight Fight: Carlos Ulberg (205.2) vs. Nicolae Negumereanu (206)
*Spann wweighed over the light heavyweight limit of 206 pounds and is fined 20% of his purse
** Trizano weighed over the featherweight limit of 146 pounds and is fined 20% of his purse
Don’t miss a moment of UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira, live from Madison Square Garden in New York. Preliminaries begin at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. The main card kicks off at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Order now!
