Israel Adesanya will fight Alex Pereira for his UFC middleweight title in the headline bout to UFC 281 next month.
‘The Last Stylebender’ defended his world crown with a third consecutive decision win over Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 in July.
The 33-year-old is one of the most respected in the industry and will be keen to defend his reputation against an old foe.
Adesanya lost a professional bout to Pereira back 2017 and will be seeking revenge.
Pereira knocked out Sean Strickland on the same card to Adesanya’s last fight and the Brazilian will be looking to make the most of his title shot.
The card also features Carla Esparza, who will be taking on Zhang Weili for the strawweight title. Dustin Poirier as well as Michael Chandler will also be on the card.
Adesanya vs Pereira – Date and How to Follow
UFC 281 is scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 12 and is being held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
UK fans can expect the prelim action to begin at 11pm. The main card will commence at 1 AM on Sunday. Adesanya vs Pereira will be held at 4am.
The action will air on BT Sport 2 at 1am. You will receive more details about how to follow the action soon.
TalkSPORT will have all the details and reactions to the fight throughout the week.
Click here to tune into talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2, through the website You can watch the live stream HERE. You can also listen to the TalkSPORT appDAB digital radio through your smart speaker or on 1089 and 1053 AM.
Adesanya vs Pereira: Fight card
All information subject to change
Main card
- MAIN EVENT: Israel Adesanya (c) vs Alex Pereira – for UFC Middleweight Championship
- Carla Esparza (c) vs Zhang Weili – for UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
- Dustin Poirier vs Michael Chandler
- Claudio Puelles vs Dan Hooker
- Brad Riddell vs Renato Moicano
Preliminary Card
- Andre Petroski vs Wellington Turman
- Molly McCann vs Erin Blanchfield
- Frankie Edgar and Chris Gutierrez
- Dominick Reyes vs Ryan Spann
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Silvana Gomez Juarez
- Michael Trizano vs Choi Seung-woo
- Matt Frevola vs Ottman Azaitar
- Carlos Ulberg vs Nicolae Negumereanu
- Julio Arce vs Montel Jackson
Adesanya and Pereira: What’s the verdict?
Jared Cannonier: “It definitely favors Izzy more.
“He’s been here longer. He’s had all these five-round championship fights with the best in our sport, so it’s definitely different. He has the knowledge and experience to do that.
“He’s altered his kickboxing style more for MMA. Alex maintains a certain kickboxing base. His stance.
“Not to say that it’s a detriment to him, but it can be exploited as far as MMA goes.
“I think the advantage lies with Israel in that regard.
“The power lies with Alex, for sure. They’re both the same size, you know, so Alex is going to be a denser opponent, so he’s probably a little bit heavier.
“It’s definitely going to be an exciting fight.”
UFC 280This weekend, Charles Oliveira meets Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title in the Arena United Arab Emirates.
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