UFC® RETURN TO MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
HEADLINED BY HIGHLY ANTICIPATED CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLEHEADER
FEATURED BOUTS:
(C) ISRAEL ADESANYA vs. (#5) ALEX PEREIRA
(C) CARLA ESPARZA vs. (#2) ZHANG WEILI UFC® 281: ADESANYA vs. PEREIRA
TICKETS GO ON SALE FRIDAY, AUGUST 26
Las Vegas – On the anniversary of the first, record-breaking UFC event at Madison Square Garden, UFC returns to the iconic venue with an event headlined by two highly anticipated championship matchups. In the main event, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya looks to settle the score with former kickboxing foe and No. 5 ranked contender Alex Pereira. In the co-main event, UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza intends to defend her newly won title for the first time against former champion and No. 2 ranked contender Zhang Weili.
UFC® 281: ADESANYA vs. PEREIRA takes place Sat., November 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City with the main card at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on ESPN+ PPV. The prelims will be seen on ESPNNEWS, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT with the night’s action starting at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT with Early Prelims on ESPN+ (English and Spanish) and UFC Fight Pass.
UFC® 281: ADESANYA vs. PEREIRA tickets will go on sale Fri., August 26 at 10 a.m. ET and are available for purchase at ticketmaster.com and msg.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets Wed., August 24 at 10 a.m. ET via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thurs., August 25 starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
Reigning middleweight king Adesanya (23-1, fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand) plans to deliver another statement performance in his second MSG appearance. Arguably the most popular champion in the UFC today, he has established himself as one of the most skilled strikers to ever compete in MMA with wins over former champions Robert Whittaker (twice) and Anderson Silva, as well as Derek Brunson, Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa. Adesanya now seeks to avenge a pair of kickboxing losses to Pereira and prove he is the best martial artist on the planet.
Pereira (6-1, fighting out of Danbury, Conn. by way of Sao Paulo, Brazil) aims to make the most of his first UFC title opportunity. A former Glory kickboxing middleweight and light heavyweight champion, he has burst onto the MMA scene with impressive finishes over Sean Strickland and Andreas Michailidis. Pereira now has his sights set on showing that he is the best striker in MMA by defeating Adesanya once again and claiming 185-gold.
Two-time UFC strawweight champion Esparza (20-6, fighting out of Irvine, Calif.) looks to start her new campaign at the top with a dominant victory. Currently on a six-fight win streak, Esparza fought her way back to the title with notable wins over Yan Xiaonan, Marina Rodriguez and Michelle Waterson. She now expects to secure her first successful title defense by neutralizing Zhang.
Former title holder Zhang (22-3, fighting out of Beijing, China) seeks to regain her lost crown and cement herself as one of the best fighters in MMA. The first and only Chinese champion in UFC history, she has entertained fans with victories over Joanna Jedrzejczyk (twice), Jessica Andrade and Jessica Aguilar. Zhang now plans to add another UFC champion to her resume by vanquishing Esparza.
Additional bouts on the card include:
- Former light heavyweight title challenger and No. 7 ranked contender Dominick Reyes (12-3, fighting out of Victorville, Calif.) returns to action against No. 12 ranked Ryan Spann (22-7, fighting out of Beaumont, Texas)
- No. 12 ranked women’s flyweight Erin Blachfield (9-1, fighting out of Elmwood Park, NJ) looks to halt the momentum of streaking No. 15 ranked Molly McCann (13-4, fighting out of Liverpool, England)
- Fan favorite Karolina Kowalkiewicz (14-7, fighting out of Lodz, Poland) meets Silvana Gomez Juarez (7-4, fighting out of Tucuman, Argentina) in a women’s strawweight bout
- An exciting lightweight bout sees Matt Frevola (9-3-1, fighting out of Long Island, N.Y.) lock horns with Ottman Azaitar (13-0, fighting out of Rabat, Morocco)
- The Ultimate Fighter season 27 winner Michael Trizano (10-3, fighting out of Ramsey, N.J.) battles SeungWoo Choi (10-5, fighting out of Seoul, South Korea) at featherweight
For the latest information on additional bouts for this event, please visit www.ufc.com. All bouts are live and subject to change. Please click here to apply for the event.
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About UFC®
UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 688 million fans and 207 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world, while broadcasting to nearly 900 million TV households across more than 170 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 75 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is owned by global entertainment, sports and content company Endeavor, and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok: @UFC.
About Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp.
Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. (MSG Entertainment) is a leader in live entertainment. The Company presents or hosts a broad array of events in its diverse collection of venues: New York’s Madison Square Garden, Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and Beacon Theatre; and The Chicago Theatre. MSG Entertainment is also building a new state-of-the-art venue in Las Vegas, MSG Sphere at The Venetian. In addition, the Company features the original production – the Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes – and through Boston Calling Events, produces the Boston Calling Music Festival. The Company’s two regional sports and entertainment networks, MSG Network and MSG+, deliver a wide range of live sports content and other programming. Also under the MSG Entertainment umbrella is Tao Group Hospitality, with entertainment dining and nightlife brands including: Tao, Marquee, Lavo, Beauty & Essex, Cathédrale, Hakkasan and Omnia. More information is available at www.msgentertainment.com.
About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 22.8 million subscribers.
Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $6.99 a month (or $69.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of the Disney Bundle that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu for $13.99/month (Hulu w/ads) or $19.99/month (Hulu w/o ads). Subscribers to Hulu + Live TV also receive ESPN+ at no additional cost.
About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment brand, features eight U.S. television networks, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.