- Main Card Features: Three Title Fights. Four Champions. Five Belts.
- Main Card starts at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV
- Prelims on ESPN and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET
- Early Prelims on ESPN+ at 6:00 p.m. ET
- Extensive week-long coverage highlighted by a live one-hour UFC 259 Pre-Show Saturday on ABC at 2:30 p.m. ET
- To sign up or purchase PPV, visit com/ufc
UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya will stream exclusively on ESPN+ PPV this Saturday, March 6, at 10 p.m. ET from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nev. The UFC 259 main card features a championship tripleheader with three titles on the line as part of UFC’s biggest card this year so far. The main event will see newly crowned UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz (27-8-0), making his first title defense following his dominant title win over Dominick Reyes in September of last year, against UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (20-0-0). Blachowicz has won four straight fights leading up to UFC 259, while Adesanya, the undefeated, undisputed king of the middleweight division, will move up a weight class and attempt to join UFC’s elite list of double champions that includes Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo.
The main card will also see the longest-reigning current champion, Amanda Nunes (20-4-0) making the second defense of her UFC women’s featherweight title against a surging Megan Anderson (11-4-0). Widely considered the greatest female fighter of all time, Nunes holds both the featherweight and bantamweight titles and has not lost since 2014. Anderson, a former Invicta FC featherweight champion, enters the Octagon for the biggest fight of her UFC career having won her last two fights via first round finishes. In the first of three title fights, UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan (15-1-0) will make his first title defense against No. 1-ranked challenger Aljamain Sterling (19-3-0). Yan captured the vacant UFC bantamweight title in July 2020 with a dominant victory over former two-time UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo. Sterling, who is on a five-fight winning streak, will look to make a statement in his first title shot.
UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya will begin with early prelims at 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+ in English and Spanish, with prelims at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+ (English and Spanish). Live coverage begins on Saturday, with UFC Live: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya Pre-Show, airing on ABC at 2:30 p.m. ET. The Pre Show provides fans with exclusive insights and views on the biggest stories heading into UFC 259.
UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya Original Content:
- UFC 259 Countdown: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya: The show gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at the training camps for the main and co-main fighters.
- UFC 259: Embedded: This daily all-access series follows athletes throughout fight week, leading up to UFC’s next pay-per-view event; one new episode each day is available on ESPN+
- Unlocking Victory: UFC 259 Gilbert Melendez and Angela Hill break down the keys to victory for the fighters competing at UFC 259. Now available on ESPN+
- UFC 259 Official Weigh-In Show (Friday): Ariel Helwani, Brett Okamoto, Michael Eaves and the ESPN MMA team check in live from the official UFC weigh-ins ahead of the UFC 259 PPV event; streaming live, exclusively on ESPN+
- Ariel & the Bad Guy: Recent episodes are now available on ESPN+
- SportsCenter (Thur.-Sun): Brett Okamoto and Chael Sonnen will report from UFC APEX for ESPN’s flagship news and information program.
The Ultimate Fighter: Now available on ESPN+ ESPNPlus.com/TUF, Season 5 of TUF the first season to feature only one weight class, lightweights, and two finales. One consisted of the coaches fight and the other between the two finalists, Nate Diaz and Manny Gamburyan.
ESPN.Com
- By Brett Okamoto: ‘I had this fire in me’: Jan Blachowicz has powered his way from nearly cut to UFC champ
- By Ariel Helwani: Adesanya envisions two paths to victory at UFC 259
- By Marc Raimondi: MMA anniversary: How Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche impacted Amanda Nunes and other stars
- By Marc Raimondi: UFC 259: The next Khabib? Why some believe Islam Makhachev is ready for greatness
- From Siberia to South Beach: Petr Yan makes drastic change in training ahead of UFC 259
- UFC 259: In her words: Amanda Nunes inspired to create lasting memories as a fighter, mother
- Out Friday: Advice from the Champ-Champs: What DC, Cejudo and Nunes say Israel Adesanya should expect if he wins
- Out Saturday: Viewers Guide
- Expert Picks
- How to watch and stream, plus expert analysis and predictions
- ESPN’s UFC 259 Pick’Em – fans can play for FREE and compete for a chance to win $5,000
Social: @ESPNMMA Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Fans can sign-up for ESPN+ at any time at ESPN.com, ESPNPlus.com, or on the ESPN App and purchase UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya.
Programming (All times ET)
| Thurs., 3/4 | 5:00 p.m. | UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya Final Press Conference | ESPN App, ESPNMMA YouTube |
| Fri., 3/5 | 11:55 a.m. | Ariel & The Bad Guy (Official Weigh-Ins) | ESPN+, ESPNMMA YouTube Channel, @ESPN on Twitter |
| 2:00 p.m. | UFC 259: Pre-Show: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya | ESPN+ | |
| 5:30 p.m. | UFC Live presented by DraftKings: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya | ESPN2 | |
| Sat., 3/6 | 2:30 p.m. | UFC 259 Countdown: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya | ABC |
| 5:00 p.m. | UFC 259: Ariel & The Bad Guy Social Show | ESPNMMA YouTube Channel, ESPN App, @ESPN on Twitter, | |
| 6:00 p.m. | UFC 25: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya (Early Prelims) | ESPN+ (English and Spanish) | |
| 8 p.m. | UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya (Prelims) | ESPN, ESPN+ (English and Spanish) | |
| 10 p.m. | UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya (Main Card) | ESPN+ PPV (English and Spanish) | |
| Sun., 3/7 | 1 a.m. | UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya Post Show* | ESPN+ |
*immediately following main card
Main Card, Prelims and Early Prelims (All times ET)
| 10:00 PM | Main | Jan Blachowicz (C) vs. Israel Adesanya | UFC Light Heavyweight Championship |
| Co-Main | Amanda Nunes (C) vs. Megan Anderson | UFC Women’s Featherweight Championship | |
| Undercard | Petr Yan (C) vs. Aljamain Sterling | UFC Bantamweight Championship | |
| Undercard | Islam Makhachev vs. Drew Dober | ||
| Undercard | Thiago Santos vs. Aleksandar Rakic | ||
| 8:00 PM | Feature | Dominick Cruz vs. Casey Kenney | |
| Undercard | Song Yadong vs. Kyler Phillips | ||
| Undercard | Joseph Benavidez vs. Askar Askarov | ||
| Undercard | Rogerio Bontorin vs. Kai Kara-France | ||
| 6:00 PM | Feature | Tim Elliott vs. Jordan Espinosa | |
| Undercard | Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Carlos Ulberg | ||
| Undercard | Sean Brady vs. Jake Matthews | ||
| Undercard | Livinha Souza vs. Amanda Lemos | ||
| Undercard | Uros Medic vs. Aalon Cruz | ||
| Undercard | Mario Bautista vs. Trevin Jones |
