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Heavyweight fighters Alistair Overeem and Aleksei Oleinik will headline UFC Fight Night 149 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on Saturday.
The preliminary card (10 a.m. ET) will be televised on ESPN2, while Overeem vs Oleinik and the main card (1 p.m. ET) will be exclusively on ESPN+. Here’s how to watch a live stream of all the fights online:
How to Watch UFC Saint Petersburg Main Card Online
The main card won’t be on regular cable TV anywhere in the US, but you can watch a live stream of those fights via ESPN+, the digital streaming service from ESPN that has exclusive coverage to dozens of sporting events, including UFC, every week.
You can start a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Overeem vs Oleinik and the main card on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
How to Watch UFC Saint Petersburg Preliminary Card Online
The prelims will be televised on ESPN2, but if you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of ESPN2 on your computer, phone, or streaming device via one of the following live-TV streaming services:
PS Vue — which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch — offers four different live-TV channel packages: All four include ESPN2.
You can start a free five-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the fights on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including ESPN2.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the fights on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
ESPN2 is included in the “Sling Orange” channel bundle.
You can start a free seven-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the fights on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the Sling TV app.
UFC Saint Petersburg Preview
Overeem was originally scheduled to fight Alexander Volkov in the main event, but the former M-1 Global heavyweight champion pulled out on April 3. The UFC cited “health issues” for the 30-year-old Russian’s absence.
“It is a different style opponent but most importantly in my training camp I focused on my shape,” Overeem said, according to UFC.com. “And then it doesn’t really matter who you face, you know? You just know you’re in the flow, you just know you’re going to do good so for me the change didn’t really matter.”
The 38-year-old is 44-17 in his professional MMA career, with 22 knockouts, and 9-6 with six KOs in the UFC.
Overeem has fought in Russia twice, falling to Yuriy Kochkine in Yekaterinburg in a Fighting Network Rings event in 2000 then besting Sergey Kaznovsky via armbar in Saint Petersburg in a 2002 M-1 Global bout.
“I actually fought here a long time ago, 2002, back in the beginning days of my career,” Overeem said, per UFC.com. “So I have a lot of fans. Undoubtedly the room with be more for Aleksei, he’s Russian and we are in Russia, of course he will have the majority of the fans. I’m just here to deliver a great fight and I think the audience will appreciate that.”
Overeem told the site of his opponent: “I think I’m better everywhere but he does have a very slick submission game. He also has some striking. He’s a very aggressive fight and he pushes the pace. Still never the less I’m not worried. I focused on my own shape and I’m in phenomenal shape and I predict this will not go the distance.”
Oleinik gave Overeem some tips on how to overcome that slick submission game before the Ukrainian-born Russian knew he’d be fighting the London native.
“Biggest problem in my opponent, I trained with my opponent six, maybe eight months in this gym,” Oleinik told MMA Junkie. “We trained together, we sparred together, we wrestled together. Sometimes I showed him defense from my grappling technique, and this is the biggest problem. He’s a very strong guy. He’s motivated for this fight. He has two wins in a row, now. He’s a tough guy. But I’m too not easy, I hope, for him.”
The 41-year-old is 57-11-1 in his professional MMA career, with eight knockouts. He’s 6-2 in the UFC, and the only UFC fighter in history to win a bout with an Ezekiel choke, which he’s done twice.