Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker will go head-to-head for the middleweight title for the second time when they fight in the main event of UFC 271 this weekend.
Australian Whittaker lost the belt to the Nigerian-born New Zealander on home soil in 2019, when he was knocked out by Adesanya in front of a UFC record crowd of over 57,000 in Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium.
After knocking down Whittaker on the buzzer at the end of the first round, then-interim champion Adesanya stopped his opponent in the second frame to take the undisputed crown.
Since losing the belt to the “Last Stylebender”, Whittaker has won three in a row against elite competition, while Adesanya has successfully defended the title three times – but also suffered his first professional defeat in failing to win the light heavyweight gold last year.
Here’s all you need to know about UFC 271.
When is it?
UFC 271 takes place on Saturday 12 February at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
What time does it start?
The early prelims are scheduled to begin at 11pm GMT (3pm PT, 5pm CT, 6pm ET), with the prelims following at 1am GMT (5pm PT, 7pm CT, 8pm ET) on Sunday morning. The main card then begins at 3am GMT (7m PT, 9pm CT, 10pm ET.
How can I watch it?
The card will air live on BT Sport in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights.
In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass.
Full card
Main card
Israel Adesanya (C) vs Robert Whittaker 2 (middleweight title)
Kyler Phillips vs Marcelo Rojo (bantamweight)
Vinc Pichel vs Mark Madsen (lightweight)
Roxanne Modafferi vs Casey O’Neill (women’s flyweight)
Carlos Ulberg vs Fabio Cherant (light heavyweight)
Ed Herman vs Maxim Grishin (light heavyweight)
Mana Martinez vs Ronnie Lawrence (bantamweight)
Alexander Hernandez vs Renato Moicano (lightweight)
AJ Dobson vs Jacob Malkoun (middleweight)
Douglas Silva de Andrade vs Sergey Morozov (bantamweight)
Orion Cosce vs Blood Diamond (welterweight)
