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UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori 2 is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on June 12, 2021 at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona, United States.
Fight card
Main Card
Middleweight Israel Adesanya (c) vs. Marvin Vettori Middleweight Championship
Flyweight Deiveson Figueiredo (c) vs. Brandon Moreno Flyweight Championship
Welterweight Leon Edwards vs. Nate Diaz
Welterweight Demian Maia vs. Belal Muhammad
Light Heavyweight Paul Craig vs. Jamahal Hill
Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Lightweight Drew Dober vs. Brad Riddell
Light Heavyweight Eryk Anders vs. Darren Stewart
Women's Flyweight Lauren Murphy vs. Joanne Calderwood
Featherweight Movsar Evloev vs. Hakeem Dawodu
Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Women's Bantamweight Pannie Kianzad vs. Alexis Davis
Lightweight Matt Frevola vs. Terrance McKinney
Featherweight Chase Hooper vs. Steven Peterson
Lightweight Fares Ziam vs. Luigi Vendramini
Heavyweight Carlos Felipe vs. Jake Collier
Background
The event will be the second that the promotion has contested in Glendale, following UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje in April 2018. Zuffa had previously hosted the final World Extreme Cagefighting event, WEC 53, at the arena in December 2010.
A UFC Middleweight Championship bout between current champion Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori is expected to headline the event. The pair previously met at UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje, where Adesanya won via split decision.
A UFC Flyweight Championship rematch between the current champion Deiveson Figueiredo and former title challenger Brandon Moreno is expected to take place at the event. The pairing previously met in December 2020 at UFC 256, where Figueiredo retained the title after the bout was scored a majority draw.
A light heavyweight bout between Paul Craig and Jamahal Hill is expected to take place at the event. The pairing was previously scheduled to take place at UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland, but Hill withdrew from that event on March 10 after testing positive for COVID-19.
A welterweight bout between Leon Edwards and former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger Nate Diaz (also The Ultimate Fighter 5 lightweight winner) was expected to take place at UFC 262. However, Diaz pulled out due to a minor injury in early May and the bout was postponed to this event. Despite the different date, the pairing will retain its original status, marking the first time in UFC history that a non-title bout other than the main event has been scheduled for five rounds.
A women's bantamweight bout between Karol Rosa and Sijara Eubanks was scheduled to take place at the event. However, Rosa pulled out of the fight in late-May citing an eye injury. In turn, Eubanks was removed from the card and will face Priscila Cachoeira six weeks later at UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Dillashaw instead.
A lightweight bout between Frank Camacho and Matt Frevola was originally scheduled to take place at UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Volkov in June 2020, but Frevola was pulled from the fight during the week leading up to the event after teammate and cornerman Billy Quarantillo tested positive for COVID-19. Despite two negative tests, Frevola was removed from the bout in an abundance of caution. They were then rescheduled for this event. In turn, Camacho pulled out of the fight four days before the event after he was involved in a traffic accident in Orange County, California that left him with non-life threatening injuries. Frevola will face promotional newcomer Terrance McKinney instead.
June 9 - Updated fight card & background
