The UFC is back with its latest pay-per-view and a return to New York, which means the popular “Embedded” fight-week video series is here to document what’s happening behind the scenes.
UFC 281 takes place Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.
The main event is a middleweight title fight between champion Israel Adesanya (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) and challenger Alex Pereira (6-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC). They have met twice before – but in kickboxing. Pereira has a pair of wins over Adesanya in those bouts.
The co-main event is a women’s strawweight title fight between champ Carla Esparza (19-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and former titleholder Zhang Weili (22-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC). In addition, Michael Chandler (23-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) takes on Dustin Poirier (28-7 MMA, 20-6 UFC) in a key lightweight bout, and former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar (24-10-1 MMA, 18-10-1 UFC) fights in what likely will be his final bout when he meets Chris Gutierrez (18-3-2 MMA, 6-1-1 UFC) at bantamweight.
The first episode of “Embedded” follows the featured fighters while they get ready for fight week. Here is the UFC’s description of the episode from YouTube:
Champ Israel Adesanya and his UFC 281 teammates get Jersey tough; foe Alex Pereira trains in the Tri-State area as well. Champ Carla Esparza preps to face a powerhouse, Zhang Weili, who simulates fight night in Las Vegas.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.
