UFC 253 Live Reddit Stream: In his first 25 months on the UFC roster, Adesanya went 8-0 inside the Octagon, winning the interim middleweight title in one of 2019’s best fights opposite Kelvin Gastelum before unifying the belts with a second-round finish of Robert Whittaker last October. In his first title defense, “The Last Stylebender” edged out Yoel Romero in a tactical chess match that allowed the Nigerian-born New Zealander to maintain his place atop the division. Checkout these best UFC submissions enlisted by MMAFullContact.
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UFC 253 is the first in a series of five new events planned for UFC’s Fight Island campus on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The league held a previous series of events on the island back in July. The new UFC Fight Island matches will include multiple UFC Fight Night events with high profile fighters, like Holly Holm, Marlon Moraes, and Chan Sung Jung a.k.a. “The Korean Zombie.”
This one could end suddenly in the first round, be a protracted battle like Adesanya’s fight against Gastelum and Costa’s war with Romero, or land somewhere in between. The only thing that is certain is that everyone is already counting down the hours until these two hit the Octagon and will be on the edge of their seats from the moment the challenger starts to make his walk to the UFC cage on Saturday evening.
UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya will defend his title against Brazil’s Paulo Costa in a clash of undefeated fighters at UFC 253 on September 26. UFC 253 will stream exclusively via ESPN+ with the main card starting at 10 p.m. ET and early prelims beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
Adesanya established himself as one of UFC’s most dominant champions in 2019, defeating UFC legends Anderson Silva and Robert Whittaker to claim the belt. Costa has a reputation as one of UFC’s most powerful fighters, earning knockouts in 11 of his 13 career matches. Positive tests for performance enhancing substances derailed Costa’s UFC career in 2018 but his unbeaten record and knockout prowess make him one of UFC’s most highly regarded fighters.
Fans will not be in attendance for UFC 253 or any of the other events due to the coronavirus pandemic. UFC has implemented at least 18 different safety precautions for staff, including advanced medical screenings, temperature checks, and social distancing guidelines.UFC 253 is separated into three portions: the early prelims, the prelims, and the main card. The early prelims are only available to UFC Fight Pass subscribers, while the prelims will air on ESPN+ and the ESPN cable channel. The main card, meanwhile, is an ESPN+ exclusive pay-per-view event.
You can access the ESPN+ app on all major mobile and connected TV devices, including Amazon Fire, Apple, Android, Chromecast, PS4, Xbox One, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, and more.Episode 3 of UFC 253 Embedded features Kai Kara-France, Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz, Dominick Reyes and Paulo Costa as they kill their time before the pay-per-view event on Saturday. Kara-France and Adesanya do some light sparring, Blachowicz does some light R&R, Reyes meets MMA legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Paulo Costa meets the media (virtually), and more.Three-round barnburners against Jamie Mullarkey in Melbourne last October, then a show-stopping battle against Magomed Mustafaev in Auckland seven months ago have left a lasting early impression.
“All that matters is that you win, you perform and you entertain,” Ridell tells Newshub. “All of those things need to be conquered and that’s my goal.”I’m excited to stand in front of Alex and stare at him, because I feel like his energy is competitive and I feel like he is there to have a go at me.”I’m looking forward to staring into his eyes and seeing his soul, because I always know I’m there to go at them.”
Don’t be fooled by Riddell’s youthful 8-1 mixed martial arts record. He may be fresh to the UFC, but he has more than a decade worth of kickboxing and Muay Thai experience to his name, years of bouts on both regional cards and in far-flung lands that have crafted a highly technical and cerebral striking savant.That’s why – despite his young UFC career – Riddell has the confidence to claim he’s already the division’s most dangerous and pure striker.
“I think I am. I’m sure other people have their other opinions, but in my mind, absolutely.”The middleweight title is on the line in Saturday night’s main event as undefeated, undisputed reigning champion Israel Adesanya puts the belt on the line against unbeaten Brazilian contender Paulo Costa in a highly anticipated grudge match carrying all the elements needed to be a Fight of the Year contender.
Costa is a perfect 5-0 inside the Octagon and 13-0 overall, with his Fight of the Night-winning victory over Romero at UFC 241 last summer standing as the lone time he’s gone the distance in his career. The aggressive contender earned stoppage victories over Johny Hendricks and Uriah Hall prior to his clash with Romero but has been sidelined ever since after dealing with a torn biceps and various additional injuries and ailments.
Any time two undefeated fighters clash with championship gold hanging in the balance, you know you’re getting a matchup between two elite competitors and this one is no different. What ups the ante, however, is the genuine contempt and animosity that exists between these two, who have been trading barbs and boastful predictions on social media since Adesanya dispatched Whittaker to stand alone as the one true ruler of the middleweight ranks.
Stylistically, this has the potential to be electric as Costa is an aggressive striker who will look to pressure the champion, which should give the sublime counter-striker Adesanya an opportunity to utilize his complete offensive arsenal on Saturday night.
He believes his counterparts still don’t fully realise the level of stand-up he possesses, although they’re beginning to learn – the hard way.”Look at the last fight. He was very strong and had a really good body lock, but he held onto that body lock for dear life, because he knew what was going to happen if he let go.”He didn’t even really want to let go with one hand to punch me, because he knew I’d get out and we’d be back facing each other standing.”
During his kickboxing years, Riddell always had one eye on a full-time transition to mixed martial arts. But rather than leap at the first opportunities that came his way, he opted to take the patient approach – albeit with some encouragement from his City Kickboxing coaches – to ensure he had the well-rounded game required to compete at the sport’s highest echelon.
That meant wholeheartedly embracing grappling, putting striking to the side, and adopting a staple diet of wrestling and jiu-jitsu – and plenty of it.”I had to put time and hours – heaps of hours – to level up to these guys who’ve grappled for 10 years like I’ve done striking for 10 years and that’s all I’ve done,” he says.”My ears have gone, because I’ve spent hours and hours on the ground, with these Russians and Chechens in Thailand, and with my friends, the Hickman brothers.
“I’ve definitely taken to grappling like a duck to water and I really do enjoy it. I like the competitive nature of wrestling, how it’s just go, go, go and you have to win.”As far as a blueprint for a successful crossover from kickboxing to MMA, Riddell only needs to look across the mat to teammate Israel Adesanya.An established star with premiere kickboxing promotion Glory, Adesanya took the time to establish a full MMA skillset before leaping into the cage and the rest is history.
“I used to be very gung ho and I’d fight all the time – a couple of times a month, if i could. Then [coach] Eugene Bareman slowed me down and I watched Israel – that was a good example.”I watched how patient he was with his MMA approach and look where he is now. The sky is nowhere near the limit for him.”Look what happened in just a year. From the day that he signed until a year later, that was just patience.
Sunday offers Riddell the opportunity to register his third straight UFC victory (sixth straight overall) against Da Silva, fighting alongside CKB teammates Kai Kara-France, Shane Young and headliner Adesanya.The 24-year-old Brazilian is experienced beyond his years, boasting a 21-2 professional record that he’s accumulated with an equal share of submission and TKO.