The UFC is back on Fight Island for five events in five weeks. Starting off the festivities is UFC 253 a championship doubleheader.
Preview
The main event is the long-awaited clash between unbeaten archrivals, “The Eraser” Paulo Costa challenges “The Last Stylebender” Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight championship. The Brazilian title challenger is 5-0 inside the octagon, his first four victories all TKO’s. Including a first round finish of former champion Johny Hendricks & a 2nd round TKO of Uriah Hall. A slugger with 11 of his 13 wins by knockout. Costa has only reached the judges cards once in his last outing over a year ago, defeating Yoel Romero at UFC 241 by unanimous decision. Adesanya is a native of Nigeria, fighting out of New Zealand, who came to MMA with 79 professional kickboxing bouts under his belt. Adesanya is 8-0 in the UFC with finishes of Rob Wilkinson, Derek Brunson, & Robert Whittaker to be the world title. The champion defended his title for the first time defeating Yoel Romero this past March in a tactical striking chess-match. Adesanya has a 74% finishing rate with 14 of his 19 wins by knockout.
But first a new light-heavyweight champ must be crowned, as California’s Dominick “The Devastator” Reyes squares off with Poland’s Jan Blachowicz. Reyes started his UFC career 6-0, finishing; Joachim Christensen, Jeremy Kimball, Jared Cannonier & former champ Chris Weidman all in the first round. In February Reyes failed to dethrone Jon Jones of the title belt in a decision that many felt was much closer than the scorecards reflected. Blachowicz is a 14-fight vet of the octagon whose won seven of his last eight fights. And is on a three-fight win streak that includes knockouts of Luke Rockhold & Corey Anderson. The 37-year-old has a 62% finishing rate.
The feature fight is a top 15 ranked flyweight match-up, number seven Kai Kara France versus number ten Brandon Royval. Top 15 ranked women’s bantamweights also meet on the main card as number seven Ketlen Vieira battles number 13 Sijara Eubanks.
A prelim that must have some spotlight, TUF 1 winner, former title challenger, Diego Sanchez competes in MMA reportedly for the last time, when he faces Jake “The Celtic” Kid Matthews. At 38-year-old, Sanchez has won three of his last four fights. Highlight of the stretch a TKO of Mickey Gall at UFC 235. Matthews has won five of six fights since moving up to 170 lbs. The Australian has won consecutive decisions over Rostem Akman & Emil Weber Meek.
Gambling
The UFC has been the one sports league consistently providing entertainment for fans since the Covid-19 pandemic began. This also means that the UFC has been even more popular with those looking to turn their sports knowledge into a little extra cash.
Across the board, UFC 253 odds & predictions have the middleweight champion Israel Adesanya as the favorite ranging from -170 to -178, while you can find the challenger Paulo Costa in the +140 to +150 range. In the battle for the vacant light-heavyweight title, Dominick Reyes is the favorite and can be found from -280 to -250. In the underdog role Jan Blanowicz can be found somewhere between +220 to +200.
The biggest favorite on the card is Jake Matthews at -700. His opponent veteran Diego Sanchez, who is 6-6 in his 12 fights and was the betting dog in all of them, comes in at +500. If you like prop bets Blachowicz by stoppage is around for +550.
When & How to Watch
UFC 253 takes place at the Flash Forum on Yas Island, UAE. Early prelims will be streaming on UFC Fight Pass at 7 p.m. ET, prelims will be televised on ESPN2 and stream on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, the main card is an ESPN+ pay per view exclusive at 10 p.m. ET.
Fight Card
Main Card
- Middleweight Title Bout: (champ) Israel Adesanya (19-0) vs. Paulo Costa (13-0)
- Vacant Light-heavyweight Title Bout: Dominick Reyes (12-1) vs. Jan Blachowicz (26-8)
- Flyweight Bout: Kai Kara-France (21-8) vs. Brandon Royval (11-4)
- Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Ketlen Vieira (10-1) vs. Sijara Eubanks (6-4)
- Featherweight Bout: Hakeem Dawodu (11-1-1) vs. Zubaira Tukhugov (19-4-1)
Preliminary Card
- Lightweight Bout: Brad Riddell (8-1) vs. Alex Da Silva (21-2)
- Welterweight Bout: Diego Sanchez (30-12) vs. Jake Matthews (16-4)
- Featherweight Bout: Ludovit Klein (16-2) vs. Shane Young (13-4)
- Light-heavyweight Bout: Aleksa Camur (6-0) vs. William Knight (8-1)
Fight Pass Card
- Heavyweight Bout: Juan Espino (9-1) vs. Jeff Hughes (10-3)
- Light-heavyweight Bout: Khadis Ibragimov (8-3) vs. Danilo Marques (9-2)
