The UFC is back on Fight Island, and kicking off their return in a big way with UFC 253.
It’s usually best to measure expectations, of course. The next title fight is always the best title fight, in the eyes of promoters. That’s not always the case, of course. Exhibit A: Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero earlier this year. On paper, a can’t-miss match-up between a creative, pinpoint striker and a human tank. In reality, a snoozefest that left fans with a bad taste in their mouths.
Lightning rarely strikes twice, however, and in Adesanya’s case, that could be a good thing. Atop the UFC 253 card, he’s been paired up with another beast of a fighter in the form of Paulo Costa.
This one has to bring the fireworks, right? And if for some reason we’ve been bamboozled again, the co-main event has the light heavyweight title on the line. With Jon Jones vacating, presumably for greener pastures in the heavyweight division, Jan Blacowicz will face the last man to fight Jones, Dominick Reyes.
One or the other title fight, though preferably both, should deliver this weekend.
Friday morning, of course, brought about the weigh-in in Abu Dhabi. For results, check below.
Tune in Friday morning starting at 9AM ET for full results from the UFC 253 weigh-in.
While the main and co-main event are both official, with Paulo Costa the first fighter to hit the scales, two other fighters missed weight for UFC 253. Featherweights Zubaira Tukhugov and Ľudovít Klein were both four pounds over the 146lb non-title limit.
UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa Weigh-In Results
Main Card (PPV, 10 PM ET)
Middleweight: Israel Adesanya (c) (184) vs. Paulo Costa (185) – for the UFC middleweight championship
Light Heavyweight: Dominick Reyes (205) vs. Jan Błachowicz (205) – for the vacant UFC light heavyweight championship
Flyweight: Kai Kara-France (126) vs. Brandon Royval (126)
Women’s Bantamweight: Ketlen Vieira (136) vs. Sijara Eubanks (136)
Featherweight: Hakeem Dawodu (145) vs. Zubaira Tukhugov (150)*
Preliminary card (ESPN 2/ ESPN+/TSN, 8PM ET)
Lightweight: Brad Riddell (156) vs. Alex da Silva (156)
Welterweight: Diego Sanchez (170) vs. Jake Matthews (170)
Featherweight: Shane Young (146) vs. Ľudovít Klein (150)**
Light Heavyweight: William Knight (205) vs. Aleksa Camur (206)
Early Preliminary card (ESPN 2 / ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass, 7PM ET)
Heavyweight: Juan Espino (255) vs. Jeff Hughes (258)
Light Heavyweight: Khadis Ibragimov (206) vs. Danilo Marques (206)
* Tukhugov misses the featherweight limit by 4lbs
** Klein misses the featherweight limit by 4lbs
