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 [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) and challenger [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] (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 [autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] (19-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and former titleholder [autotag]Zhang Weil[/autotag]i (22-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC). In addition, [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) takes on [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] (28-7 MMA, 20-6 UFC) in a key lightweight bout, and former lightweight champion [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] (24-10-1 MMA, 18-10-1 UFC) fights in what likely will be his final bout when he meets [autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag] (18-3-2 MMA, 6-1-1 UFC) at bantamweight.
The fifth 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:
Champs Israel Adesanya and Carla Esparza join their opponents at the UFC 281 presser; Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier face off. Zhang Weili and Frankie Edgar train for their next chapters. Izzy and Alex Pereira pose at a landmark.
Also see:
- UFC 281 ‘Embedded,’ No. 1: Israel Adesanya (sort of) mows down a beehive
- UFC 281 ‘Embedded,’ No. 2: Alex Pereira’s son recalls mocking Israel Adesanya after KO loss
- UFC 281 ‘Embedded,’ No. 3: ‘Meatball’ Molly McCann arrives and does some autograph work
- UFC 281 ‘Embedded,’ No. 4: Carla Esparza, Michael Chandler get Times Square moments
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.
[listicle id=2594645]
[vertical-gallery id=2595186]
[listicle id=2594649]
[vertical-gallery id=557185]