The long-awaited middleweight title grudge match between champ Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa and the UFC 253 pay-per-view event has been pushed back one week.
During the UFC 252 main card, the promotion released an official promo video for the event, which now takes place Sept. 26. The video did not specify the event’s location, though the promotion has requested and received approval for that date at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. UFC President Dana White has also hinted at the possibility of a return to Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.
Here is a teaser for the full video.
IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING #UFC253 pic.twitter.com/N8y5F7xtmh
— UFC (@ufc) August 16, 2020
The UFC also announced the current main card for the event, which includes three other matchups: Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Royval; Claudia Gadelha vs. Yan Xiaonan; and Hakeem Dawodu vs. Zubaira Tukhugov.
Adesanya’s showdown with Costa has been delayed by injuries and scheduling. A shoulder surgery for Costa forced him to the sidelines after a win over one-time interim title challenger Yoel Romero earned him a title shot. Rather than wait for the Brazilian, Adesanya chose to take on Romero in his first title defense since unifying the belt with a knockout of Robert Whittaker.
The current UFC 253 card includes:
- Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa
- Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Royval
- Claudia Gadelha vs. Yan Xiaonan
- Hakeem Dawodu vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
- Donald Cerrone vs. Niko Price
- Mirsad Bektic vs. Eduardo Garagorri
- Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Sarah Alpar
- Ketlen Vieira vs. Marion Reneau
- Johnny Walker vs. Ryan Spann
- Jordan Espinosa vs. David Dvorak
- Casey Kenney vs. Heili Alateng
- Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Cyril Gane