It’s UFC PPV week and that means another card stacked top to bottom with fantastic fights. The main event will see Israel Adesanya face off with the only man to knock him out in combat sports, Alex Pereira—this time with the UFC middleweight title on the line. In the co-main Carla Esparza looks to make the first defense of her second reign as strawweight champ, against former belt holder Weili Zhang. Throw some Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler action in there and it’s a guaranteed good time.
For fans interested in diving deeper into the undercard, check out the Prelims Vivi below.
The MMA Vivisection is brought to you by ‘The Fine Art of Violence’, a collection of art and essays recapping the year in MMA by Chris Rini, featuring the most talented artists and writers in Mixed Martial Arts. The book is available in both hard copy and digital formats at chrisrini.com.
Here’s a look at the UFC 281 fight card as it stood at the time of recording:
ESPN+PPV CARD | SAT. NOV. 12 — 10/7PM ETPT
14. UFC MW Championship: Israel Adesanya (23-1) vs. Alex Pereira (6-1) — At 2:50, Odds 29:54, Picks, Both: Pereira
13. UFC SW Championship: Carla Esparza (19-6) vs. Zhang Weili (22-3) — At 32:28, Odds 45:48, Picks, Both: Zhang
12. 155lbs: Dustin Poirier (28-7) vs. Michael Chandler (23-7) — At 47:04, Odds 1:02:29, Picks, Both: Poirier
11. 135lbs: Frankie Edgar (24-10) vs. Chris Gutierrez (18-3) — At 1:03:00, Odds 1:17:13, Picks, Both: Gutierrez
10. 155lbs: Dan Hooker (21-12) vs. Claudio Puelles (12-2) — At 1:17:26, Odds 1:24:00, Picks, Both: Hooker
ESPN+ PRELIMS | 8/5PM ETPT
9. 155lbs: Renato Moicano (16-5) vs. Brad Riddell (10-3) — At 1:34, Odds 14:16, Picks, Both: Riddell
8. 205lbs: Dominick Reyes (12-3) vs. Ryan Spann (20-7) — At 15:49, Odds 22:03, Picks, Both: Reyes
7. 125lbs: Erin Blanchfield (9-1) vs. Molly McCann (13-4) — At 22:26, Odds 28:44, Picks, Both: Blanchfield
6. 185lbs: Andre Petroski (8-1) vs. Wellington Turman (18-5) — At 30:37, Odds 35:47, Picks, Both: Turman
UFC FIGHTPASS EARLY PRELIMS | 6/3PM ETPT
5. 155lbs: Ottman Azaitar (13-0) vs. Matt Frevola (9-3) — At 37:00, Odds 42:22, Picks , Both: Azaitar
4. 115lbs: Karolina Kowalkiewicz (13-7) vs. Silvana Gómez Juárez (11-4) — At 43:14, Odds 49:24, Picks, Both: Kowalkiewicz
3. 145lbs: Mike Trizano (9-3) vs. Seung Woo Choi (10-5) — At 49:42, Odds 56:42, Picks, Both: Choi
2. 135lbs: Julio Arce (18-5) vs. Montel Jackson (11-2) — At 56:57, Odds 1:03:48, Picks, Both: Arce
1. 205lbs: Carlos Ulberg (6-1) vs. Nicolae Negumereanu (13-1) — At 1:06:09, Odds 1:12:03, Picks, Both: Negumereanu
For those of you following the picks made on the show, we started tracking them with the July 13th, 2020 Vivisection shows for UFC Fight Island 1: ‘Kattar vs. Ige’. So far, here are the overall standings:
- For our last event, UFC Vegas 64: Rodriguez vs. Lemos: Zane went 6/11 for 54.55%, while Connor went 7/11 for 63.64% as well
- Overall from UFC Fight Island 1 through UFC Vegas 64: Zane is now at 763/1180 for 64.66% and Connor is now at 717/1180 for 60.76%
- So far, in 2022: Zane is at 293/443 for 66.14% and Connor is at 275/443 for 62.08%
- 2021: Zane went 305/493 for 62% and Connor went 285/493 for 58%
- July-Dec 2020: Zane went 164/244 for 67% and Connor went 157/244 for 64%
- Reference: Vivi Picks Stats_11.10.22.pdf
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LIVE STREAM UFC 281 PPV ON ESPN+ HERE!
BLOCKBUSTER TWO TITLE-FIGHT SHOWDOWN! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to MSG (Madison Square Garden) in NYC, NY, on Sat. NOV. 12, 2022, with a must-see thriller that will see perennial fan favorite, No. 1 ranked Israel ‘The Last Stylebender’ Adesanya (23-1), battle No. 3 division ranked contender, Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira (6-1), for the UFC Middleweight Championship. Meanwhile, in UFC 281’s pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, we get the current and two-time UFC Strawweight Champion, Carla ‘The Cookie Monster’ Esparza (19-6), defending her title opposite Zhang Weili (22-3). These bouts will be preceded by an exciting Lightweight barnburner between Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier and ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler, in a must-see barnburner.