UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa is a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on September 27, 2020 at the Flash Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. A UFC Middleweight Championship bout between current champion Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa served as the event headliner.
Main event: Michelle Waterson vs. Angela Hill | Sijara Eubanks vs. Julia Avila | Roxanne Modafferi vs. Andrea Lee | Bryan Barberena vs. Anthony Ivy | Alan Patrick vs. Bobby Green
145 lbs.: Yair Rodriguez vs. Jeremy Stephens | 115 lbs.: Carla Esparza vs. Alexa Grasso | 125 lbs.: Brandon Moreno vs. Askar Askarov | 135 lbs.: Irene Aldana vs. Vanessa Melo | 145 lbs.: Martin Bravo vs. Steven Peterson
UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Lee (also known as UFC Fight Night 152 or UFC on ESPN+ 10) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 18, 2019 at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York.
UFC 230: Cormier vs. Lewis is a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 3, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes (also known as UFC Fight Night 131) is a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on June 1, 2018, at Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, New York.
Invicta FC 21: Anderson vs. Tweet was a mixed martial arts event that will be headlined by a bout between top featherweight contenders Megan Anderson and Charmaine Tweet competing for the interim featherweight championship. The event was scheduled to feature the MMA debut of undefeated professional boxer Heather Hardy against Brieta Carpenter, however Carpenter pulled out due to injury and the fight was removed from the card. A fight between Leah Letson and former UFC fighter Elizabeth Phillips was added instead. DeAnna Bennett was scheduled to fight Jodie Esquibel but pulled out of the fight and was replaced by Kali Robbins. Esquibel was then set to fight Robbins at a catchweight of 120 lbs but Robbins missed weight and the fight was canceled.
Invicta FC 18: Grasso vs. Esquibel was a mixed martial arts event headlined by a strawweight fight between undefeated Alexa Grasso and Jodie Esquibel. The winner of the main event is expected to receive the next strawweight title shot against champion Angela Hill. The original co-main event was to be Irene Aldana facing undefeated Brazilian fighter Taila Santos to determine who challenges Tonya Evinger next for the bantamweight championship, however VISA issues forced Santos off the card and the fight was removed. Lynn Alvarez was scheduled to fight undefeated Indian fighter Manjit Kolekar but VISA issues forced Kolekar off the card and she was replaced by Mizuki Inoue. Agnieszka Niedzwiedz was scheduled to fight Claudia Rey but Rey was also unable to make the event due to VISA issues and was replaced by Christine Stanley. Aldana, Rey, and Santos are now being scheduled for the next event.
Invicta FC 12: Kankaanpää vs. Souza was a mixed martial-arts event headlined by Katja Kankaanpää defending her strawweight championship against Livia Renata Souza. Sijara Eubanks was scheduled to fight Roma Pawelek but Pawlek pulled out due to injury the week of the event and was replaced by Gina Begley. A fight between Cassie Rodish and Stephanie Skinner was originally scheduled but Skinner suffered an injury on the week of the show and the fight was pulled from the event.
