UFC 271 takes place in Houston, Texas this Saturday, with the headline bout seeing middleweight champion Israel Adesanya defend the belt against Robert Whittaker in a rematch, more than two years after the current title holder dethroned the Australian.
Adesanya has antagonised Whittaker at every opportunity – both before their first fight and in the build-up to this weekend’s clash – and tonight the rivals will go face-to-face for the first time since their initial in-ring meeting. On that evening in October 2019, Nigerian-born New Zealander Adesanya knocked out Whittaker on the then-champion’s home soil in Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium. The seismic bout ended in the second round, with a UFC record crowd of more than 57,000 in attendance.
The pair will main event again this Saturday, with the co-main event featuring Whittaker’s compatriot Tai Tuivasa in an important heavyweight match-up against former title challenger Derrick Lewis. All four fighters will speak at a press conference tonight, as will UFC president Dana White.
Follow live updates from the UFC 271 pre-fight press conference below.
