If you’re heading to “Sin City” to catch a pair of title fights this week, there are a few events you can attend for free.
UFC 248 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
In the main event, middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) puts his title on the line for the first time against challenger [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC). In the co-feature, women’s strawweight champ [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] (20-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) defends her title against former champ [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC).
Prior to the event, fans can attend open workouts featuring the title fighters. The event is free and open to the public on the casino floor next to the Race & Sports Book at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Weili will work out first at 1 p.m. PT, followed in 20-minute increments by Romero, Jedrzejczyk and Adesanya.
Friday, ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans take place at T-Mobile Arena. But ahead of that, there’s a special news conference for UFC 249 featuring UFC president Dana White, lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) and challenger Tony Ferguson (25-3 MMA, 15-1 UFC). Doors open for the public at 2:30 p.m. PT. The UFC 249 press conference starts at 3 p.m., followed by the UFC 248 ceremonial weigh-ins and faceoffs at 4 p.m.
The UFC 248 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Champ Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero – for middleweight title
- Champ Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk – for women’s strawweight title
- Beneil Dariush vs. Drakkar Klose
- Li Jingliang vs. Neil Magny
- Max Griffin vs. Alex Oliveira
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)
- Sean O’Malley vs. Jose Quinonez
- Austin Hubbard vs. Mark Madsen
- Saparbek Safarov vs. Rodolfo Vieira
- Gerald Meerschaert vs. Deron Winn
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET)
- Polyana Viana vs. Emily Whitmire
- Jamall Emmers vs. Giga Chikadze
- Danaa Batgerel vs. Guido Cannetti
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