How to Watch UFC 253 Online: Live Stream Adesanya vs. Costa on ESPN+
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The next big UFC fight is finally upon us. Israel Adesanya takes on Paulo Costa for the middleweight title tonight at UFC 253.
After staging its last event in Vegas, the UFC returns to Dubai’s “Fight Island” for the heavily-anticipated title bout, which will be available to stream live on ESPN+ here.
Both fighters are undefeated and are seen as two of the biggest rising stars in the UFC today. The Nigerian-born Adesanya is the current middleweight champion, and is looking to defend his title against the Brazilian striker, Costa (a.k.a. “The Eraser”). The bout is set to be one of the more evenly-matched fights we’ve seen to date, and even UFC president Dana White has dubbed the Adesanya vs. Costa match as the “Fight of the Year.”
When is UFC 253?
UFC 253 takes place tonight, Saturday, September 26th at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. The event will air live from Abu Dhabi, Dubai (with the main card scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. local time). Due to continued restrictions put in place because of the coronavirus, no fans will be in attendance at the event, meaning the only place to catch the action is from home.
How to Stream UFC 253 Live Online
You can watch UFC 253 live on ESPN+, which lets you stream the fight on your phone, tablet, laptop or TV. The main card is a pay-per-view event available exclusively on ESPN+. To watch UFC 253, you’ll need to sign up for an ESPN+ membership and then pay the $64.99 PPV fee.
An ESPN+ membership costs $5.99 per month or $49.99 per year. If you just want access to the fight, you can sign up for a month of service here, and then add the fight to your watchlist. The total price will be $72.
Your best deal is to snag ESPN’s bundle promo, which gets you a year-long ESPN+ membership plus instant access to UFC 253 for just $84.98. The deal saves you 25%, and you’ll have access to ESPN+ for an entire year, which will come in handy for future UFC events. While UFC 253 is a PPV event, an ESPN+ membership lets you stream the UFC online free for many of its weekly fights.
Watch the UFC 253 Live Stream here on ESPN+
Tonight’s UFC 253 fight card also features a match between Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. The belt was vacated by former two-time champ, Jon Jones, in August, after he cited frustrations with the company.
The UFC 253 main card also features a flyweight bout featuring Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Royval, and a featherweight matchup between Hakeem Dawodu and Zubaira Tukhugov. The women’s bantamweight bout pits the 10-1 Ketlen Vieira against the American, Sijara Eubanks.
Where to Get UFC 253 Merch
The official UFC store has a ton of merch available for the fight, from posters and T-shirts to replica walk-out hoodies for both fighters. This is the only place to get officially-licensed UFC gear, and the best place to find Adesanya and Costa-branded merchandise. You can see the full selection of UFC merch here.
Prelims for UFC 253 start at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the main card at 10:00 pm ET. UFC 253 is available exclusively to ESPN+ subscribers via pay-per-view. Sign up to watch the fight here.