UFC 271 ‘Cold Open’ Video! A Middleweight Rematch For The Ages

Israel Adesanya will be back in action later tonight (Sat., Feb. 12, 2022) at UFC 271 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Toyota Center in Houston, Tex., when “Last Stylebender” defends his UFC middleweight title in a main event rematch with Robert Whittaker.

In case you forgot, Adesanya and Whittaker have fought once before. It happened at UFC 243 back in 2019 when Whittaker was champion and Adesanya had the interim strap. The middleweight clash was a massive showdown that took place in front of 50,000 screaming fans in Melbourne, Australia. Adesanya ended up coming through in the title unification bout and stopped “Bobby Knuckles” with a second-round knockout.

Since then, Adesanya has racked off three-straight middleweight title defenses and tasted his first professional loss in a failed attempt to move up and win the 205-pound belt. Whittaker, on the other hand, has gone undefeated with a 3-0 record in the middleweight division. This includes key victories over Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and Kelvin Gastelum.

In advance tonight’s UFC 271 PPV card, the promotion has released the official ‘Cold Open’ video, which can be seen in the above player. Narrated by the distinguished Ron Perlman, the promo video shed some serious light on the history shared by Adesanya and Whittaker as well as an in-depth look at the rematch in “H-Town.”

Check it out above and don’t forget to tune in later tonight as UFC 271 goes down live on ESPN+ PPV. The main card card will also feature a heavyweight clash between contenders Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa, along with a pivotal middleweight affair between Jared Cannonier and Derek Brunson.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 271 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

For more news and notes on UFC 271 be sure to visit our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated, revised, and finalized “Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2” fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.