The UFC is back with its latest pay-per-view and a return to Abu Dhabi, which means the popular “Embedded” fight-week video series is here to document what’s happening behind the scenes.
UFC 280 takes place Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.
The main event is a vacant lightweight title fight between former champion Charles Oliveira (33-8 MMA, 21-8 UFC), who was stripped of the belt when he missed weight in May, and Islam Makhachev (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC), who has won 10 straight and hasn’t lost in more than seven years.
The co-main event is a bantamweight title fight between champ Aljamain Sterling (21-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) and ex-titleholder T.J. Dillashaw (17-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC). In addition, Sean O'Malley (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) takes on former champ Petr Yan (16-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in a key bantamweight bout.
The third episode of “Embedded” follows the featured fighters while they get ready for fight week. Here is the UFC’s description of the episode from YouTube:
Beneil Dariush sees a path to UFC gold. Katlyn Chookagian and Sean Brady arrive. Charles Oliveira trains to win; Islam Makhachev greets his Hall of Famer coach Khabib Nurmagomedov. Sean O’Malley, Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling dive into fight week.
Also watch:
- UFC 280 ‘Embedded,’ No. 1: ‘Pink poodle coming to kill the little Russian’
- UFC 280 ‘Embedded,’ No. 2: Team Makhachev walks right past Team Oliveira
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 280.