Israel Adesanya v Yoel Romero fight: UFC 248 start time Australia, live stream, blog, how to watch

Australian UFC champ Alex Volkanovski at T-Mobile Arena to support close mate Israel Adesanya - and he's revealed how he crossed paths with Chan Sung Jung – aka The Korean Zombie - a couple of days ago. 

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, front left, of Nigeria, and challenger Yoel Romero, right, of Cuba, face off during a ceremonial weigh-in for UFC 248 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Friday, March 6, 2020. UFC president Dana White keeps the fighters separated. Adesanya will defend his title against Romero at the arena on Saturday, March 7. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

• Adesanya to rush Jones superfight after UFC 248 “beating”

Israel Adesanya is ready to take the world by storm and join the ranks of MMA's biggest stars, starting with his bout against Cuban monster Yoel Romero in Las Vegas.

The Nigeria-born, New Zealand-raised UFC middleweight champion has never lost in the cage.

He is also a charismatic, multilingual citizen of the world who appears to be the next fighter in line for superstardom with the UFC, which would love to capitalize on his potential for global appeal.

Yet Adesanya (18-0, 14 KOs) knows his aspirations hang in the balance on every fight. He intends to stay on course when he takes on fearsome Romero (13-4) in the main event of UFC 248 in his first defense of an undisputed title belt.

“A lot is on the line in this fight,” Adesanya said.

Watch LIVE UFC with ESPN on KAYO including every Fight Night & preliminary fights for PPV events. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero face off ahead of UFC 248. Picture: AP

“I don’t know what the odds are, but I feel like the underdog. I feel like a lot of people want to see me fall in this fight. This is the nature of what we’ve created. We like to build people up, and we like to tear them down because we see inadequacy in ourselves from the way they’re shining.”

WATCH UFC 248: ADESANYA v ROMERO HERE

Adesanya actually is a solid favorite in the main event of the UFC’s latest event at T-Mobile Arena.

The penultimate bout also has global appeal, with new Chinese strawweight champion Zhang Weili defending her belt againstformer champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Poland.

WATCH UFC 248: ADESANYA v ROMERO HERE

Originally published as Israel Adesanya v Yoel Romero fight: UFC 248 start time Australia, live stream, blog, how to watch

Updates