Follow all of the action from Saturday’s intriguing main card at Madison Square Garden.
NEW YORK, NY–This is the opportunity Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have been seeking.
The world’s greatest middleweight, Adesanya is pursuing his 13th straight win in the division tonight. He is doing it in style, with the spotlight shining brightly, in the main event of UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden. This is only Adesanya’s second appearance at MSG, and first in four years, and he can cement his place atop the industry with a victory against Pereira—who beat Adesanya twice in kickboxing—at the mecca of all combat sports.
Pereira is a kickboxing star, which is something of an oxymoron in North America. The sport stands as a distant relative to MMA, and shares nowhere near the same notoriety. Despite all his kickboxing accolades, Pereira does not possess even an iota of Adesanya’s star power. That pendulum can begin to shift, however, if Pereira defeats Adesanya and wins the middleweight title.
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UFC 281 is must-see viewing for fight fans. It also features a pivotal lightweight battle putting Dustin Poirier against Michael Chandler. The loser of this bout will fall back a step in an incredibly competitive division, one that is even further crowded with the impending arrival of reigning featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski. The winner of this three-round bout is in a great spot to be the next challenger after Islam Makhachev fights Volkanovski, though Beneil Dariush also belongs in that discussion. For Chandler and Poirier, this is a must-win.
The 281 co-main event is Carla Esparza making her first title defense of the strawweight belt against Weili Zhang. A two-time champ, Esparza is in search of her first successful title defense. That will be complicated against Weili, who is an incredibly tough opponent, one who will be moving forward with a constant striking attack.
The card’s other two bouts are also significant. Dan Hooker attempts to end a two-fight losing streak in a bout against Claudio Puelles in the main card opener. There will also be an emotion-soaked element to 281 as the great Frankie Edgar fights for the final time in his career. Edgar is stepping into a lion’s den against red-hot Chris Gutiérrez, who sees this as a way to elevate his standing as a bantamweight.
Legends will be made at Madison Square Garden, with history taking an especially close glance at the Adesanya-Pereira main event.
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