Getty Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa face off during the UFC 253 weigh-in.
The UFC returns to Fight Island in Abu Dhabi as undisputed 185-pound champion Israel Adesanya takes on Paulo Costa in the main event.
If you want to watch Adesanya vs Costa and all the UFC 253 fights on your TV, computer, phone, Amazon Fire Stick, Apple TV, Roku, PlayStation 4, Xbox One or any other connected-to-TV streaming device, you’ll need to buy the UFC 253 PPV through ESPN+ and then watch on the ESPN app.
Or, you can read on for a more detailed guide on how to watch on various devices:
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How to Watch UFC 253
- 1. Buy the UFC 253 PPV right here
- 2a. To watch on your computer, go to the ESPN website
- 2b. To watch on your TV, download the ESPN app on a connected-to-TV device such as Roku, Firestick or video game console
- 2c. To watch on your phone or tablet, download the ESPN app on your device
- 3. Once inside the ESPN app, sign in to your ESPN+ account
- 4. Select the UFC 253 prelims or main card to start watching
Where to Watch UFC 253
Once you’re signed up for ESPN+ and you’ve purchased the PPV, you can UFC 253: Adesanya vs Costa on your computer via ESPN.com, or you can watch on the ESPN app on any compatible connected-to-TV streaming device, such as:
Roku or Roku TV
Amazon Firestick or Fire TV
Apple TV
Chromecast
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
iPhone or iPad
Android phone or tablet
Samsung Smart TV
Oculus Go
For all of those options, you’ll need to sign in with your ESPN+ account to watch both the prelims (ESPN+) and the main card (ESPN+ PPV).
How Much Does UFC 253 Cost?
It depends on whether or not you already have an ESPN+ subscription, as you need one to order any UFC PPV.
If You Don’t Have ESPN+
You can get a special bundle deal that includes a one-year subscription to ESPN+ ($49.99 value) and UFC 253 ($64.99 value) for $84.98, which works out to about 26 percent savings:
Or, if you want to purchase them separately, you can first subscribe to a month of ESPN+ right here ($5.99 for ESPN+, or $12.99 for a bundle of ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+), and then follow the below directions for existing ESPN+ subscribers.
However, with the amount of UFC (and other sports) content on ESPN+, most MMA fans are probably going to keep ESPN+ long-term, meaning the value of the bundle is the better way to go if you don’t already have ESPN+.
If You Already Have ESPN+
Current ESPN+ subscribers can order the UFC 253 PPV by itself for $64.99:
Or, if you only have a monthly subscription (and don’t have the Disney+ bundle), you can still get the special bundle that includes a year of ESPN+ and the UFC 253 PPV. The only difference is that instead of starting a new ESPN+ subscription, you’ll just extend your current subscription by a year and get the UFC 253 PPV for a total of $84.98:
UFC 253 Preview
Fight Island is back and the UFC has imported a packed card for the event. Undisputed middleweight champ Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya takes on fellow unbeaten middleweight Paulo Costa in the headliner.
Adesanya has beat Yoel Romero, Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum in his last three fights. His most recent victory came against Romero in the form of a fairly tight decision.
“I feel like that was the valley of my story, and now it’s time to rise again,” Adesanya said. “This is my time, and this one is going to shoot me into the stratosphere.”
He’ll certainly has an opponent in front of him that gets his blood boiling. Adesanya and Costa have had a long brewing rivalry, which will come to a head when they get into the ring for the main event.
“There wasn’t really an origin, it’s just energies,” Adesanya told CBS Sports. “There are certain energies that don’t mix well with other energies. You have to be able to understand it and read it, and also to trust and protect your instincts. That’s what I did. He just happened to be vibrating around it everywhere and not everything happens for a reason.
“It’s mutual; I don’t like you and you don’t like me. F— you and f— you.”
Things boiled over at the weigh-ins on Friday. Taunting Adesanya’s grappling skills, Costa threw a white belt at him, sparking a scuffle.
“I’ll berimbolo you if I wanted to,” Adesanya said. “I’ll grab your f—— collar right now and put you in a bow-and-arrow.”
“You never put a gi on your skinny body,” Costa barked back. “Talk about jiu-jitsu with me. You’re crazy.”
The co-main event features Jan Blachowicz (26-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC) against Dominick Reyes (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) for the vacant light heavyweight title. Reyes most recently fought Jon Jones for the belt, but fell in a controversial five-round decision.
“We both know it. Me and Jon both know it,” Reyes told the OC Register. “I was never hurt one time. I hurt him multiple times. I was in danger one time. I mean, for me, that’s pretty much a beating.”
Main Card for UFC 253
Israel Adesanya (184) vs. Paulo Costa (185)
Jan Blachowicz (205) vs. Dominick Reyes (205)
Kai Kara-France (126) vs. Brandon Royval (126)
Sijara Eubanks (136) vs. Ketlen Vieira (136)
Hakeem Dawodu (145) vs. Zubaira Tukhugov (150)