There’s something special about UFC 267. A few things, actually.
First and foremost, Saturday’s fight card is headlined by a title bout, as light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz defends against Glover Teixeira.
It’s always special when a belt is on the line, but it’s not so unusual in a fight promotion with 11 champions. What is unusual is the event’s start time. The fights in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, begin at 10:30 a.m. ET, with the main card getting underway at 2 p.m.
And perhaps most notable of all: Unlike most numbered UFC events, in which the main cards are on pay-per-view, UFC 267 is available in its entirety on ESPN+. There’s no PPV cost for this one. All a fan needs is an ESPN+ subscription.
Blachowicz (28-8) is coming off a high-profile superfight victory over middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in March, the 38-year-old Pole’s eighth win in his last nine fights. Blachowicz is No. 5 in the ESPN pound-for-pound rankings.
Teixeira (32-7), ranked No. 2 at light heavyweight by ESPN, has won five in a row. The 42-year-old Brazilian, who lives and trains in Connecticut, challenged for the 205-pound belt once before, dropping a decision to Jon Jones in 2014.
The card also features an interim title bout in the men’s bantamweight division, as former champ Petr Yan takes on Cory Sandhagen for the right to wear a shiny belt while champion Aljamain Sterling heals from injury.
How to watch the fights
Watch all of the fights on ESPN+. Download the ESPN App
Don’t have ESPN+? Get it here.
There’s also FightCenter, which offers live updates for every UFC card.
Saturday’s fight card
ESPN+, 2 p.m. ET
Light heavyweight championship: Jan Blachowicz (c) vs. Glover Teixeira
Men’s bantamweight interim championship: Petr Yan vs. Cory Sandhagen
Lightweight: Islam Makhachev vs. Dan Hooker
Heavyweight: Alexander Volkov vs. Marcin Tybura
Welterweight: Li Jingliang vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Light heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Volkan Oezdemir
ESPN+, 10:30 a.m. ET
Strawweight: Amanda Ribas vs. Virna Jandiroba
Men’s featherweight: Ricardo Ramos vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
Middleweight: Albert Duraev vs. Roman Kopylov
Welterweight: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Benoit Saint-Denis
Light heavyweight: Michal Oleksiejczuk vs. Shamil Gamzatov
Men’s featherweight: Makwan Amirkhani vs. Lerone Murphy
Middleweight: Hu Yaozong vs. Andre Petroski
Lightweight: Damir Ismagulov vs. Magomed Mustafaev
Men’s flyweight: Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Allan Nascimento
(c) = defending champion
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