UFC 280 is set to get going this weekend from Abu Dhabi on Saturday, October 22. There is a five-bout main card highlighted by a lightweight showdown between No. 1 Charles Oliveira and No. 4 Islam Makhachev. The event will air across the ESPN network, with the main card broadcast via ESPN+ PPV.
Oliveira and Makhachev will be competing for the vacant lightweight title. Oliveira missed weight ahead of his last bout and vacated the belt. He went on to submit Justin Gaethje in the first round of their fight to remain the No. 1 contender for the title. Makhachev enters this matchup with a 22-1 record and has won 10 fights in a row. His last four fights have ended before a decision, including his first-round knockout of Bobby Green in February of this year.
The second to last fight of the night will feature Aljamain Sterling defending his bantamweight belt against #2 TJ Dillashaw. Sterling is coming off a split-decision win against Petr Yan in April 2022 to retain his title. Dillashaw enters with an 18-4 record and returns to the octagon for the first time since 2021. He had a split-decision win against Cory Sandhagen and finds himself back in the title picture.
The main card will begin with a huge women's flyweight bout. #1 Katlyn Chookagian taking on #6 Manon Fiorot, with the winner likely facing Valentine Shevchenko in their next fight. The second fight of the main card will see #6 Beneil Dariush facing #9 Mateusz Gamrot in a lightweight fight. You know the winner of that bout will have their eyes on the title fight later in the night. The bantamweight division will be on display in the third fight of the main card as #1 Petr Yan takes on #11 Sean O'Malley. With a win, could we see Sterling/Yan 3?
The prelims will start at 10:30 a.m. ET. The main card is expected to begin at 2:00 p.m. ET with the Oliveira-Makhachev fight to close it out.
So how do you watch it?
The main card for UFC 280 will be live streamed on ESPN+ PPV, which will cost $74.99 (plus tax) for the full card. The link provides an option for simply buying the card or buying the Disney Plus bundle that includes Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN+.
The eight-fight preliminary card for UFC 280 will air on ESPNEWS and ESPN+ and is free to all subscribers. But everyone will need to pay for the last five fights on the main card, and that will be $74.99 added to your credit card by ESPN. You can click on the buy portion of the app to get the show in full.