| UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | September 27, 2020 (2020-09-27) | |||
| Venue | du Forum | |||
| City | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |||
| Attendance | None (behind closed doors)[1] | |||
| Buyrate | 700,000[2] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 27, 2020 at thedu Forum onYas Island,Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[3][4][5]
The event was originally expected to take place on September 19, but it was moved to September 27.UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley took place on the former date.[3]
Although not officially announced by the organization, aUFC Lightweight Championship unification bout between current championKhabib Nurmagomedov and interim championJustin Gaethje (also formerWSOF Lightweight Champion) was briefly linked to the event.[6] However, the date did not materialize and their manager, Ali Abdelaziz, indicated that his clients would still face each other before the end of the year.[7] The pairing was then scheduled forUFC 254.[8]
Without fans in attendance, the promotion did not have to worry about the local timing of the event, so it proceeded with normal timing forprime time hours on theeast coast of North America. The main card began at 6:00 am (September 27) local time in Abu Dhabi, with a full preliminary card beginning at approximately 2:30 amGulf Standard Time.[10]
AUFC Middleweight Championship bout between former championIsrael Adesanya andPaulo Costa served as the event headliner.[11] The bout was originally targeted forUFC 248, but Costa was unable to compete on that card due to injury.[12] In turn, Adesanya defended his title against former title challenger (as well as2000 Olympic silver medalist and former world champion infreestyle wrestling)Yoel Romero.[13]
AUFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout for the vacant title between former title challengerDominick Reyes and formerKSW Light Heavyweight ChampionJan Błachowicz served as the event's co-headliner.[14] Former two-time championJon Jones vacated the belt on August 17, citing issues with the UFC over salary negotiation and the desire to compete at heavyweight.[15][16]
A heavyweight bout betweenCiryl Gane andShamil Abdurakhimov was expected to take place at this event.[17] The pairing was originally scheduled forUFC 249, but Gane was forced to pull out of the event after he was struck by apneumothorax in training.[18] Subsequently, the pairing was rescheduled forUFC 251 and cancelled a second time as Abdurakhimov was removed from the bout for undisclosed reasons.[19] In late August, the bout was moved from this event toUFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley a week earlier.[20]
A strawweight bout between formerUFC Women's Strawweight Championship challengerCláudia Gadelha andYan Xiaonan was expected to take place at this event, but a knee injury sustained by Gadelha ruled her out of the bout.[21] The pairing was rescheduled forUFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira instead.[22]
A flyweight bout betweenJordan Espinosa andDavid Dvořák was expected to take place at this event, but was later rebooked forUFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley due to undisclosed reasons.[23][24]
A women's bantamweight bout betweenMarion Reneau andKetlen Vieira was scheduled for the event. However, Reneau was pulled from the bout on September 16 citing an undisclosed injury and replaced bySijara Eubanks.[25]
Nate Landwehr was expected to faceShane Young in a featherweight bout at this event. However, Landwehr was pulled from the event after hetested positive for COVID-19 and replaced by promotional newcomerĽudovít Klein.[26]
A bantamweight bout betweenCasey Kenney andHeili Alateng was originally expected to take place at this event.[27] However, it was moved toUFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana a week later due to undisclosed reasons.[28]
At the weigh-ins,Zubaira Tukhugov andĽudovít Klein missed weight for their respective featherweight bouts. Both fighters weighed in at 150 pounds, four pounds over the non-title fight limit. Both of their bouts proceeded at a catchweight and they were each fined a percentage of their individual purses, which went to their opponentsHakeem Dawodu andShane Young.[29]
| Main card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Middleweight | Israel Adesanya (c) | def. | Paulo Costa | TKO (punches) | 2 | 3:59 | [a] |
| Light Heavyweight | Jan Błachowicz | def. | Dominick Reyes | TKO (punches) | 2 | 4:36 | [b] |
| Flyweight | Brandon Royval | def. | Kai Kara-France | Submission (guillotine choke) | 2 | 0:48 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Ketlen Vieira | def. | Sijara Eubanks | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (150 lb) | Hakeem Dawodu | def. | Zubaira Tukhugov | Decision (split) (28–29, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN2 / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Lightweight | Brad Riddell | def. | Alex da Silva Coelho | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Jake Matthews | def. | Diego Sanchez | Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–26, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (150 lb) | Ľudovít Klein | def. | Shane Young | KO (head kick and punches) | 1 | 1:16 | |
| Light Heavyweight | William Knight | def. | Aleksa Camur | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Early Preliminary card (ESPN2 / ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Heavyweight | Juan Espino | def. | Jeff Hughes | Submission (scarf hold choke) | 1 | 3:48 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Danilo Marques | def. | Khadis Ibragimov | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[31]
