- FIGHT TONIGHT || UFC 253
- Date: Sept. 26 |
- Location: Flash Forum — Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- How to watch : Watch ESPN | Channel: ESPN2
Saturday night, the UFC returns for its second stint on Fight Island, and it will be UFC 253 getting the festivities started this time around. The pay-per-view event highlighting the month of September is headlined by a pair of championship fights, with middleweight champion Israel Adesanya meeting Paulo Costa in the main event after months of trash talk and posturing. The two undefeated rivals will throw down to close the show from Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
In the co-main event, Dominick Reyes will battle Jan Blachowicz for the vacant light heavyweight championship. Reyes should, in the eyes of many, already be the 205-pound champion, but came up on the wrong side of the scorecards against Jon Jones in February. Blachowicz punched his ticket to the title shot with a three-fight winning streak, capped off by a knockout of Corey Anderson in their February rematch.
Main Card (ESPN+ pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa
Dominick Reyes vs. Jan Blachowicz
Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Royval
Ketlen Vieira vs. Sijara Eubanks
Hakeem Dawodu vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
Preliminary Card (ESPN+, ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET)
Brad Riddell vs. Alex da Silva Coelho
Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Matthews
Shane Young vs. Ludovit Klein
William Knight vs. Aleksa Camur
Early Preliminary Card (ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass, 7 p.m. ET)
Juan Espino vs. Jeff Hughes
Khadis Ibragimov vs. Danilo Marques
