The last year has been building toward this moment – the first MMA bout between kickboxing foes Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya at UFC 281, live. Pereira, the only person to ever knockout Adesanya in a contest, is challenging “The Last Sytlebender” for the middleweight belt. Their headline contest is just the cherry on top of the stacked card this Saturday that features the women’s strawweight title on the line in the co-main event. Zhang Weili is a strong candidate to reclaim her belt, currently held by Carla Esparza.
Watch UFC 281 Live
- When: Saturday, November 12, 2022
- Early Prelims Start Time: 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT
- Prelims Start Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT
- Main Card Start Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT
- Location: Madison Square Garden – New York City, New York
- UFC Live Stream: ESPN+ / ESPN+ PPV
Following Friday’s weigh-ins, the entire fight card is set to move forward. A couple of athletes, however, did fail to make their cuts. In the early prelims, Michael Trizano missed weight by 1.5 pounds, resulting in a 20 percent fine of his purse. On the preliminary card, Ryan Spann was a half-pound above the 206 limit and will be fined 20 percent of his fight check as well.
In other fight week news, Adesanya is already talking about taking another fight at 205 pounds. Also, Esparza told the media that she is ready to “put it all on the line” on Saturday night.
UFC 281 Live Results, Fight Card, and Odds*
*Odds are opening lines and subject to change.
Main Card
- (C) Israel Adesanya (-165) vs #4 Alex Pereira (+140) – Middleweight Title
- Alex Pereira KO’d Israel Adesanya at 2:01 in Round 5.
- (C) Carla Esparza (+290) vs #2 Zhang Weili (-350) – Women’s Strawweight Title
- Zhang Weili submitted Carla Esparza by rear naked choke at 1:05 in Round 2.
- #2 Dustin Poirier (-175) vs #5 Michael Chandler (+150) – Lightweight
- Dustin Poirier submitted Michael Chandler at 2:00 in Round 3.
- #12 Frankie Edgar (+175) vs Chris Gutierrez (-205) – Bantamweight
- Chris Gutierrez KO’d Frankie Edgar at 2:01 in Round 1.
- #12 Dan Hooker (-155) vs Claudio Puelles (+135) – Lightweight
- Dan Hooker TKO’d Claudio Puelles by kicks at 4:06 in Round 2.
Preliminary Card
- Brad Riddell (+105) vs Renato Moicano (-125) – Lightweight
- Renato Moicano submitted Brad Riddell by rear naked choke at 3:20 in Round 1
- #7 Dominick Reyes (-215) vs #12 Ryan Spann (+185) – Light Heavyweight
- Ryan Spann KO’d Dominick Reyes at 1:20 in Round 1.
- #12 Erin Blanchfield (-380) vs #15 Molly McCann (+310) – Women’s Flyweight
- Erin Blanchfield submitted Molly McCann by kimura choke at 3:37 in Round 1.
- Andre Petroski (-205) vs Wellington Turman (+175) – Middleweight
- Andre Petroski defeated Wellington Turman by unanimous decision.
Early Preliminary Card
- Matt Frevola (-145) vs Ottman Azaitar (+125) – Lightweight
- Matt Frevola KO’d Ottman Azaitar at 2:30 in Round 1.
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz (-115) vs Silvana Gomez Juarez (-105) – Women’s Strawweight
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz defeated Silvana Gomez Juarez by unanimous decision.
- Michael Trizano (+135) vs Seungwoo Choi (-155) – Featherweight
- Michael Trizano TKO’d Seungwoo Choi at 4:51 in Round 1.
- Julio Arce (+175) vs Montel Jackson (-205) – Bantamweight
- Montel Jackson defeated Julio Arce by unanimous decision.
- Carlos Ulberg (-125) vs Nicolae Negumereanu (+105) – Light Heavyweight
- Carlos Ulberg TKO’d Nicolae Negumereanu at 3:44 in Round 1.
Glover Teixeira Predicts UFC 281 Main Event, Talks UFC 282 Headliner
One of Glover Teixeira’s training partners for his UFC 282 main event was UFC 281 main event challenger Pereira. Talking with All Access MMA, Teixeira predicts his campmate taking the fight while previewing his own bout next month.
