UFC Vegas 81 (Yusuff vs Barboza )

UFC Vegas 81 (Yusuff vs Barboza) will take place at the UFC Apex Center on Saturday, October 14. The prelims will start at 13:00 ET with the main card due to broadcast from 16:00 ET. This superb MMA fight card promises to be a blinder and below we will explain how anybody can stream the fights online.

In this guide, we will only recommend official sources. While popular sporting events are sometimes available via third-party streaming sites, we advise against using these. In addition to being laggy and having low-resolution video, these unauthorized streams are at risk of being taken down partway through due to copyright violations. This will cause you to miss the fights, which is unnecessary because it is easy to watch an official UFC stream using a VPN.

If you’re traveling abroad and want to stream UFC Vegas online, you will need a VPN to access your usual home streaming service. Below, we will explain everything you need to know and recommend the best VPNs to watch UFC Vegas!

How to watch UFC Vegas 81 (Yusuff vs Barboza ) with a VPN

VPNs can seem a little confusing to the uninitiated, but in reality, it is very easy to use a VPN to watch the UFC. The only caveat is that not all VPNs are fast enough or provide access to online platforms like ESPN and BT Sport. That means you must stick to a recommended VPN for the UFC.

Here’s how to live stream UFC Vegas 81 online from anywhere:

  1. First of all, sign up for a suitable VPN. We recommend NordVPN but if you’re looking for alternatives, Surfshark and ExpressVPN are both excellent choices.
  2. Download and install the VPN app. Our recommendations have apps for all platforms to let you stream UFC Vegas on a smartphone, tablet, or computer.
  3. Choose one of the official UFC sources from the list below.
  4. Connect to one of your VPN’s servers in the appropriate country. For example, you should use a US server to access ESPN+ from abroad.
  5. Log in to your chosen platform and stream the UFC! It should load right away, but if it doesn’t, clear your browser’s cache and cookies, then reload the page.

As this event will be broadcast live, we strongly recommend testing your VPN with the steps above well in advance of the start time. This way, if anything doesn’t work as expected, you’ll have plenty of time to contact your VPN’s customer service team for help! This will prevent you from missing any of the fights.

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Where can I watch UFC Vegas 81 online?

The UFC is now one of the most popular sporting events in the world, which is why it is available to stream on a wide variety of streaming platforms. Below, we will highlight some international services that you can access with a VPN to watch UFC Vegas.

How to watch UFC in the US

How to watch UFC in the US

Both the main card and the preliminary fights will air on ESPN+. Unfortunately, this streaming provider doesn’t offer any kind of free trial, so if you want to watch UFC Vegs 65, you’ll need to pay for an ESPN+ account. The good news is that these only costs $9.99 (GBP £8.45) per month. You can also stream the main card on the ESPN website if you have a cable TV subscription or via a third-party streaming provider that carries ESPN such as FuboTV, Hulu, Sling TV, or YouTube TV.

ESPN (and all the streaming services that carry it) is region-locked and can only be viewed from within the US – or while connected to a US VPN server. However, ESPN+ doesn’t check to see if your PayPal account is linked to a US address. This makes it possible to sign up from anywhere in the world. Don’t have a VPN yet? NordVPN comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it risk-free.

How to watch UFC in the UK

How to watch UFC in the UK

In the UK, the broadcasting rights for UFC events are held exclusively by BT Sport. This means that you will need a subscription to watch the UK feed of the UFC. British Telecom’s coverage of Sidiq Yusuff vs. Edson Barboza will start around 18:00 GMT, with the main card due to start at 21:00.

If you already have a BT Sport subscription, all you need to do is log in to the website or app and start streaming the UFC. If you don’t have a subscription yet, you can sign up for the online-only package, which costs GBP £25 per month. For those wondering, there is, unfortunately, no free trial available for BT Sports.

Alternatively, anybody who is a little hard up for cash can opt to watch the UFC using the UFC Fight Pass (£6.99 per month). This service will let you watch the preliminary fights live, but the main event will not be available to stream until a few days later.

Just remember that BT Sport is only available in the UK. Thus, if you want to watch your account (or sign up for the monthly pass online) from abroad you will need to connect to a British VPN server.

Australia

How to watch UFC in Australia

In Australia, UFC Vegas (Fight Night) will be broadcast live on ESPN. If you’re an existing Foxtel TV customer, you can stream it on the web using the Foxtel Go app.

Alternatively, anybody can sign up for Kayo Sports which starts at AUD$25 (US$16.89) per month. You can even try Kayo using its two-week free trial, to get an idea of what the platform has to offer. We think any sports fan will be impressed because it offers ESPN and ESPN 2 in addition to 13 sports channels (total) provided by its partners at FOX and BeIN Sports.

Just note that you will need to be in Australia (or using an Australian VPN server) to access either of the platforms mentioned above. So, if you are on vacation – or live outside of Australia permanently – you will need to use a VPN to get an Australian IP address.

Other locations

If you are unable to afford a VPN to watch UFC Vegas online using the official sources above, you might be better off subscribing to UFC Fight Pass. It’s available worldwide, except for in Brazil. The cost of the service varies around the world but usually costs around $10 (it costs £6.99 in the UK).

Like many sports streaming services, UFC Fight Pass uses blackouts to stop you from watching fights that have been licensed to a competing broadcaster in your country. This will usually result in the main card being unavailable.

If this is the case you may want to consider getting a subscription with whichever service is officially hosting the UFC where you live – or by accessing one of the other official UFC options mentioned above with a VPN. You could even use a VPN to try and find a country where UFC Fight Pass isn’t blacking out the main card.

Who is expected to win Yusuff or Barboza ?

At the time of writing, the veteran Edson Barboza is the underdog in this fight. Yusuff is expected to win with odds of -160. The match could earn either fighter a spot in the top 10. With Barboza on his way down, and Yusuff on his way up, the odds seem to be stacked against him, but this is the UFC, and it really is hard to count Barboza out. With six wins and one loss on his record, this fight will tell us a lot about Yusuff’s prospects, which have seemed excellent ever since he arrived in the UFC from Dana White’s contender series.

UFC Vegas 81 full schedule

StageFightWeight class
PrelimsDarren Elkins vs TJ BrownFeatherweight
Tainara Lisboa vs Raven OliveiraWomen's Bantamweight
Terrance McKinney vs Brendon MarotteLightweight
Irina Alekseeva vs Melissa DixonWomen's Bantamweight
Chris Gutieirrez vs AlatangheiliBantamweight
Ashley Yoder vs Emily DucoteWomen's Strawweight
Main eventSodiq Yusuff vs Edson BarbozaFeatherweight
Jennifer Maia vs Viviane AraujoWomen's Flyweight
Jonathan Martinez vs Adrian YanezBantamweight
Edgar Chairez vs Daniel LacerdaMiddleweight
Bill Algeo vs. Alexander HernandezFlyweight
Christian Rodriguez vs Cameron SaaimanBantamweight