ISRAEL ADESANYA is set to defend his middleweight title against old rival Alex Pereira this weekend at UFC 281.
The fight has been in the pipeline for a long time, with plenty of history between the two combatants from before their UFC days.
As a kick-boxer, Adesanya lost twice to Pereira, one of them coming by brutal knockout.
Pereira joined the UFC last year, picking up three wins since – and is now ready to fight Adesanya for a third time.
Elsewhere on the Madison Square Garden card, Dustin Poirier takes on Michael Chandler in a huge lightweight clash.
Both men will see a win as the perfect opportunity to thrust themselves into a No 1 contender spot.
When is UFC 281: Adesanya vs Pereira?
- Adesanya vs Pereira will take place on Saturday, November 12.
- The fight will get underway in the early hours of the morning on Sunday, November 13 for fans in the UK.
- You can expect the ring-walk for the main event to get going at around 5am GMT.
- UFC 281 will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York.
What channel is it and can it be live streamed?
- UFC 281: Adesanya vs Pereira will be shown live on BT Sport 2 in the UK.
- You can live stream the action from the BT Sport app, which is available for download onto your mobile or tablet device.
- UFC 281 gets going from 1am UK time, with the main card starting at 3am.
UFC 281 full card
Main card
- Israel Adesanya (c) vs Alex Pereira – for UFC Middleweight Championship
- Carla Esparza (c) vs Zhang Weili – for UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
- Dustin Poirier vs Michael Chandler
- Frankie Edgar vs Chris Gutierrez
- Dan Hooker vs Claudio Puelles
Preliminary card
- Brad Riddell vs Renato Moicano
- Dominick Reyes vs Ryan Spann
- Molly McCann vs Erin Blanchfield
- Andre Petroski vs Wellington Turman
Early preliminary card
- Matt Frevola vs Ottman Azaitar
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Silvana Gomez Juarez
- Michael Trizano vs Choi Seung-woo
- Julio Arce vs Montel Jackson
- Carlos Ulberg vs Nicolae Negumereanu
What has been said?
Israel Adesanya: “Without me, he wouldn’t be here. Without me, he would’ve been exposed a long time ago. I cleared the way.
“I cleared the division, so there was not really anyone else to fight. I cleared the way for him to get to the top.
“It’s personal. This is about me and my legacy.
“This is about re-writing history even though it is history and I never chased this.
“This is about me re-writing a new path in history and just showing people what I can really do, because, again, ya’ll must have forgot.”;
