Adesanya vs Romero Live stream
UFC returns to T-Mobile Arena with two thrilling world championship bouts. Undefeated middleweight champion Israel Adesanya goes for another show-stealing performance against No. 3 ranked contender Yoel Romero. Strawweight champion Zhang Weili will take on the toughest test of her career when she meets former titleholder and No. 4 ranked contender Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
UFC 248: ADESANYA vs. ROMERO will take place Saturday, March 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will stream live on Pay-Per-View, exclusively through ESPN+ in the U.S. at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT in both English and Spanish.
ESPN+ is the exclusive provider of all UFC Pay-Per-View events to fans in the U.S. as part of an agreement announced in March.
Fans will be able to purchase UFC 248: ADESANYA vs. ROMERO online at ESPNPlus.com/PPV or on the ESPN App on mobile and connected-TV devices. ESPN+ is available as an integrated part of the ESPN App on all major mobile and connected TV devices and platforms, including Amazon Fire, Apple, Android, Chromecast, PS4, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, X Box One and more.
Preliminary fights will air nationally in English on ESPN and on ESPN Deportes (in Spanish) starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT with the early prelims simulcast on UFC Fight Pass and ESPN+ at 6:15 p.m. ET/3:15 p.m. PT.
Among the standout fighters of 2019, Adesanya (18-0, fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand by way of Lagos, Nigeria) capped off the year by dethroning middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in front of the largest-ever UFC live audience. The former kickboxer has also earned spectacular victories against Kelvin Gastelum, Anderson Silva and Derek Brunson. Adesanya now looks to kick off his 2020 with another highlight-reel finish to secure his first successful title defense.
A perennial contender at 185 pounds, Romero (13-4, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla. by way of Pinar Del Rio, Cuba) is considered one of the most dangerous competitors in the entire sport. The 2000 Olympic silver medalist wrestler has delivered sensational knockout wins over former UFC champions Luke Rockhold, Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida. Romero now aims to achieve his destiny by capturing UFC gold and handing Adesanya his first MMA loss.
The first Chinese UFC champion, Zhang (20-1, fighting out of Beijing, China) made history when she delivered a spectacular 42-second knockout against Jessica Andrade in August to capture the title. Riding a 20-fight win streak, Zhang has also netted impressive victories over Tecia Torres, Jessica Aguilar and Danielle Taylor since joining the UFC roster in 2018. Zhang now aims to secure her first successful title defense against the former strawweight queen.
The most dominant champion in UFC strawweight history, Jedrzejczyk (16-3, fighting out of Olsztyn, Poland) successfully defended her title five times during a reign that lasted more than two years. Throughout her career, she has delivered thrilling victories against Michelle Waterson, Claudia Gadelha (twice), Jessica Penne and Carla Esparza. Jedrzejczyk now aims to further add to her legacy by becoming the first fighter to reclaim the UFC’s 115-pound championship.
Additional UFC 248 bouts include:
- In a pivotal middleweight bout, No. 8 ranked contender Derek Brunson (20-7, fighting out of Wilmington, N.C.) takes on undefeated No. 9 Edmen Shahbazyan (11-0, fighting out of Glendale, Calif.)
- Fan favorite Alex Oliveira (19-8-1 2NC, fighting out of Tres Rios, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) faces Max Griffin (15-7, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) in an exciting welterweight bout
- Unbeaten grappling ace Rodolfo Vieira (6-0, fighting out of Orlando, Fla. by way of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) takes onSaparbek Safarov (9-2, fighting out of Makhachkala, Russia)
- No. 15 ranked welterweight contender Neil Magny (21-8, fighting out of Denver, Colo.) meets surging Li Jingliang(16-5, fighting out of Beijing, China)
- In an exciting lightweight bout, Beneil Dariush (17-4-1, fighting out of Yorba Linda, Calif.) squares off withDrakkar Klose (11-1-1, fighting out of Glendale, Calif.)
- Emily Whitmire (4-3, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) takes on Polyana Viana (10-4, fighting out of São Geraldo do Araguaia, Para, Brazil) in a strawweight bout
- Danaa Batgerel (6-2, fighting out of Erdenetsagaan, Sukhbaatar, Mongolia) faces Guido Cannetti (8-4, fighting out of San Antonio de Padua, Buenos Aires, Argentina) in a bantamweight bout
Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero asked and they received.
Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) will defend his UFC middleweight title against Romero (13-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) in the main event of UFC 248.
UFC 248 takes place March 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card streams on pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
Rumblings of a matchup between Adesanya and Romero began all the way back on Oct. 29, when Adesanya tweeted out a screenshot of a text conversation between himself and coach Eugene Bareman. In the conversation, his coach suggested Romero be next. Adesanya agreed.
The tweet sparked weeks of respectful back-and-forth, with both men calling for a fight against one another. On Thursday, ESPN.com reported the matchup as a done deal, and MMA Junkie verified the news with multiple people close to the situation, who requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.
But why Romero? Adesanya explained his desire to fight the two-time title challenger in a November interview.
“No one asked to fight Yoel,” Adesanya said. “I said I want to fight the baddest (expletive) in there. So we called him out even though he’s on a two-fight losing streak. He’s lost three of his last four.
“For the stark, it’s not just not good for business. I’m a charitable guy and I think he’s a beast. Regardless of records. (Expletive) records. He’s a bad (expletive).”
UFC 248 will mark Adesanya’s first UFC title defense. In early October, Adesanya traded in his interim title for an undisputed one when he knocked out then-champion Robert Whittaker in the second round of their UFC 243 headliner.
Prior to the victory, Adesanya defeated Kelvin Gastelum in a “Fight of the Year” candidate at UFC 236 in April. “The Last Style Bender” is undefeated in his UFC tenure, also holding wins over Brad Tavares and Derek Brunson among others.
As for Romero, the 42-year-old middleweight has lost his two most recent fights – and three out of his most recent four. With three losses in that stretch, two were close decisions dropped to Robert Whittaker. The third, and most recent, was a close decision loss to Paulo Costa at UFC 241 in August.
This week, during UFC 246 fight week in Las Vegas, there were rumblings undefeated Paulo Costa might get the next shot at the belt instead of Romero, as it became apparent a fight was going to have to be made soon, with less than two months to go until UFC 248. But the announcement put those talks to rest once and for all.
