How to watch UFC 271: Adesanya vs Whittaker 2

UFC 271 Adesnaya vs. Whittaker 2 on ESPN Plus PPV
Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2 headlines a huge fight card in UFC 271. (Image credit: UFC)

UFC 271: Adesanya vs Whittaker 2 pits the two best middleweights in MMA in a championship main event rematch, so get your popcorn ready. As Israel Adesanya is hoping to dance all over his foe in the octagon again, Robert Whittaker wants to turn the tables and have his revenge.

UFC 271: Adesanya vs Whittaker 2 is being held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texax. Fights for the event begin at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 12, with the prelims starting at 8 p.m. ET. The pay-per-view main event is slated to start at 10 p.m., capped off with the Whittaker vs Adesanya main event at approximately midnight ET.

Read on to find out how you can watch UFC 271: Adesanya vs Whittaker 2 from anywhere, as well as a preview of the main event championship battle between the two middleweight foes.

How to watch UFC 271: Adesanya vs Whittaker 2 in the U.S.

U.S. sports fans who want to watch UFC 271: Adesanya vs Whittaker 2 will need ESPN Plus in order to buy this pay-per-view event. ESPN Plus is available for $6.99 per month as a standalone service or it can be an add-on channel for a standalone Hulu account, again for $6.99 per month. ESPN Plus is also now included as standard on Hulu with Live TV, which starts at $69.99 per month, or can be bundled with Disney Plus and Hulu for $13.99 per month.

Along with ESPN Plus, sports fans will need to purchase the UFC 271 Whittaker vs Adesanya pay-per-view additionally for $74.99. If you are new to the service, you can bundle this pay-per-view with a year of ESPN Plus for $99.98 total. You also have the option to bundle UFC 271 with the Disney Plus bundle to get one month and the big fight for $89.98.

The Adesanya vs Whittaker fight is exclusive to ESPN Plus and can’t be purchased in the U.S. on any cable or satellite service.

UFC fans can also watch the UFC 271 Prelims on ESPN, requiring no additional pay-per-view fee. ESPN is available on all of the top live TV streaming services (FuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV) and is a cable option on numerous traditional cable/satellite pay-TV services. Just remember that the Prelims on ESPN do not include the main card or the main event championship fight.

Beyond UFC events like this one, ESPN Plus has all kinds of live sports including NHL, college football, PGA Tour golf, Bundesliga, La Liga, Top Rank boxing and much more. The service also features sports highlights, analysis and unique original programming.

How to watch UFC 271: Adesanya vs Whittaker 2 in the U.K.

U.K. fight fans can watch UFC 271: Adesanya vs Whittaker 2 as a live stream exclusively on BT Sport. You don't need a long term contract either with the BT Sport Pass. For £25 a month, fans can see UFC Fight Night events along with Premier League football and tons of other sports.

You can watch the BT Sport coverage live stream of UFC 271: Adesanya vs Whittaker 2 starting at 1 a.m. BST, Sunday, Feb. 13, with the main card starting at 3 a.m. BST. The event will stream in the BT Sport Box Office app, available for iOS and Android, or on the BT Sport website. The apps can also be used with Google Chromecast or Apple Airplay to watch on your big screen.

Whittaker vs Adesanya — Main Event Preview

Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya (21-1) is the UFC Middleweight champion, having dominated this weight class since his arrival in the UFC in 2018. He won the undisputed title over Robert Whittaker in 2019. Adesanya knocked Whittaker down with a sweeping right just before the horn to end the first round, then finished him with a vicious left hook counter knock out in the second round.

Adesanya has misstepped in his career once as he attempted to step up a weight class to Light Heavyweight. He jumped straight into a title shot but he found himself at a significant size disadvantage against Jan Blachowicz, which he couldn’t overcome. Adesanya lost on all three scorecards after spending most of the fight pinned down on the mat. This is Adesanya’s second fight back at Middleweight and he seems to be back in his groove.

Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker (24-5) is the former UFC Middleweight champ, and he finally has the rematch he’s been aiming for the last two years. Since dropping the strap to Adesanya in late 2019, Whittaker is a perfect 3-0 with wins over big name middleweight fighters. He has treated his comeback like a tournament, beating three of the top 10 ranked fighters with all unanimous decisions. The biggest question remains unanswered until UFC 271 — has Whittaker changed something enough to get a different result in this rematch against Adesanya, or will he still look overwhelmed?

Israel Adesanya is the favorite to win this fight at -280 odds.

UFC 271: Adesanya vs Whittaker 2 schedule and full fight card

Here is the complete fight schedule for UFC 271 for Saturday, Feb. 12:

  • Early Prelims: 6 p.m. ET ESPN Plus
  • Prelims: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN Plus and ESPN
  • Main Card: 10 p.m. ET on ESPN Plus PPV

Main Card — ESPN Plus Pay-Per-View

Israel Adesanya (21-1) vs Robert Whittaker (24-5)

Derrick Lewis vs Tai Tuivasa

Jared Cannonier vs Derek Brunson

Kyler Phillips vs Marcelo Rojo

Bobby Green vs Nasrat Haqparast

Prelims — ESPN Plus & ESPN

Andrei Arlovski vs Jared Vanderaa

Roxanne Modafferi vs Casey O’Neill

Alex Perez vs Matt Schnell

William Knight vs Maxim Grishin

Early Prelims — ESPN Plus

Mana Martinez vs Ronnie Lawrence

Alexander Hernandez vs Renato Moicano

Carlos Ulberg vs Fabio Cherant

A.J. Dobson vs Jacob Malkoun

Douglas Silva de Andrade vs Sergey Morozov

Jeremiah Wells vs Mike Diamond

Roy Delgado is a freelance writer for WhatToWatch. His focus is streaming, specializing on sports. He binge-streams 32 games over the first two days of NCAA March Madness annually. He built his own DVR 15 years ago, and still tinkers to make his media setup its best.