ISRAEL ADESANYA is set to defend his middleweight title against old rival Alex Pereira TONIGHT at UFC 281.

The fight has been in the pipeline for a long time, with plenty of history between the two combatants from before their UFC days.

Adesanya is up against Pereira at UFC 281 and defending his middleweight titleAs a kick-boxer, Adesanya lost twice to Pereira, one of them coming by brutal knockout.

Pereira joined the UFC last year, picking up three wins since – and is now ready to fight Adesanya for a third time.

Elsewhere on the Madison Square Garden card, Dustin Poirier takes on Michael Chandler in a huge lightweight clash.

Both men will see a win as the perfect opportunity to thrust themselves into a No 1 contender spot.

When is UFC 281: Adesanya vs Pereira?

  • Adesanya vs Pereira will take place on Saturday, November 12.
  • The fight will get underway in the early hours of the morning on Sunday, November 13 for fans in the UK.
  • You can expect the ring-walk for the main event to get going at around 5am GMT.
  • UFC 281 will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York.

What channel is it and can it be live streamed?

  • UFC 281: Adesanya vs Pereira will be shown live on BT Sport 2 in the UK.
  • You can live stream the action from the BT Sport app, which is available for download onto your mobile or tablet device.
  • UFC 281 gets going from 1am UK time, with the main card starting at 3am.

UFC 281 full card

Main card

  • Israel Adesanya (c) vs Alex Pereira – for UFC Middleweight Championship
  • Carla Esparza (c) vs Zhang Weili – for UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
  • Dustin Poirier vs Michael Chandler
  • Frankie Edgar vs Chris Gutierrez
  • Dan Hooker vs Claudio Puelles

Preliminary card

  • Brad Riddell vs Renato Moicano
  • Dominick Reyes vs Ryan Spann
  • Molly McCann vs Erin Blanchfield
  • Andre Petroski vs Wellington Turman

Early preliminary card

  • Matt Frevola vs Ottman Azaitar
  • Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Silvana Gomez Juarez
  • Michael Trizano vs Choi Seung-woo
  • Julio Arce vs Montel Jackson
  • Carlos Ulberg vs Nicolae Negumereanu
Poirier and Chandler clash in a huge lightweight fight at UFC 281What has been said?

Israel Adesanya: “Without me, he wouldn’t be here. Without me, he would’ve been exposed a long time ago. I cleared the way.

“I cleared the division, so there was not really anyone else to fight. I cleared the way for him to get to the top.

“It’s personal. This is about me and my legacy.

“This is about re-writing history even though it is history and I never chased this.

“This is about me re-writing a new path in history and just showing people what I can really do, because, again, ya’ll must have forgot.”;

Flying Eze

Flying Eze