Round 3 – Oh! A jab from Jackson drops Arce in the first seconds of the round. The bell rings, Jackson unable to get the takedown. Jackson ties up Arce and presses him against the cage. Arce continues to press the action here and be the more offensive fighter. Arce is not landing a ton, as Jackson is solid defensively, but Jackson has no output so far. Round 2 – Just like Round 1, Arce chasing down Jackson here. Jackson misses a shot, Arce ducks under and gets a takedown in the final seconds. Arce now pressuring Jackson, landing good jabs. The referee splits them up and resets the fight. Jackson controlling Arce, but not doing much damage. Jackson lands knees to the leg and body from the clinch. Jackson closes the distance on Arce and pins him against the cage. You can also get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporters Mike Bohn ( Nolan King ( and Ken Hathaway ( Twitter. To discuss the show, be sure to check out our UFC 281 discussion thread. ET for the prelims on ESPNews and 10 p.m. ET for the early prelims on ESPN+, 8 p.m.

In addition, former Bellator champ Michael Chandler (23-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) takes on former UFC interim titleholder Dustin Poirier (28-7 MMA, 20-6 UFC) in a key lightweight bout and former 155-pound champ Frankie Edgar (24-10-1 MMA, 18-10-1 UFC) fights for what is expected to be the final time when he meets Chris Gutierrez (18-3-2 MMA, 6-1-1 UFC) at bantamweight.įollow along with our round-by-round updates and official results beginning at approximately 6 p.m. In the co-feature, women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza (19-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) defends the belt for the first time in her second stint as champ against former titleholder Zhang Weili (22-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who is a 4-1 favorite to reclaim the title. In the main event, middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) puts his title on the line against challenger Alex Pereira (6-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who holds two kickboxing wins over him. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+. UFC 281 takes place Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. NEW YORK – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Saturday’s UFC 281 event, and you can join us for live play-by-play and official results.

Ufc play by play results