UFC 281 – one of the biggest MMA events of the year – takes place Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The event includes an early preliminary card on ESPN+ (6 p.m. ET), regular prelims on ESPNews (8 p.m. ET), and the main card on ESPN+ pay-per-view (10 p.m. ET).
In the main event, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (23-1) takes on Alex Pereira (6-1), who was 2-0 against the current champ in their kickboxing days. And in the co-main event, women’s strawweight titleholder Carla Esparza (19-6)' meets ex-champ Zhang Weili (22-3).
UFC 281 also features lightweights Michael Chandler vs. Dustin Poirier in a potential fight of the night, Frankie Edgar’s retirement bout, and other notable names.