The vacant IBF cruiserweight title is on the line as unbeaten Jai Opetaia (24-0, 19 KOs) takes on Mairis Briedis (28-2, 20 KOs) this Saturday, May 18. This bout is scheduled for 12 rounds and will take place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadhi, Saudi Arabia. It will serve as the co-main event for the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk unified heavyweight title bout.
How to watch Jai Opetaia vs. Mairis Briedis 2
Main card coverage starts Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on DAZN and ESPN+. Ringwalks for the Opetaia-Briedis cruiserweight title fight are expected around 5:05 p.m. ET.
This card will stream on DAZN, to live stream it, you’ll need a subscription to DAZN.
You can subscribe to ESPN+ on the ESPN website, with a monthly subscription for $10.99, or get the ESPN/Disney/Hulu bundle for $14.99 per month. Once you’ve got a valid login, you can watch the bout with WatchESPN or on the ESPN app.
Fighter history
Opetaia enters with a lethal 79% KO rate and previously defeated Briedis in 2022 via unanimous decision. The 28-year-old has held the IBF, The Ring, and lineal cruiserweight championships within his nine year career. In his last bout he knocked out Ellis Zorro in the first round to earn an early KO win.
Briedis is a former three-time cruiserweight champion, holding the IBF, The Ring, WBC, and WBO belts on separate occasions. The 39-year-old looks to avenge his 2022 loss to Opetaia, a bout in which he rallied late and broke his opponent’s jaw. Despite Briedis efforts, he fell behind on the final scorecards. This will be his first fight back since the defeat.
Fight odds
Opetaia is the -650 betting favorite on Draftkings Sportsbook. Briedis enters with +450 odds to win. The favored method of victory is Opetaia to win by knockout (-145).
Full card for Jai Opetaia vs. Mairis Briedis
- Main event: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury, 12 rounds, for the undisputed heavyweight championship
- Jai Opetaia vs. Mairis Briedis, 12 rounds, for the IBF vacant cruiserweight title
- Joe Cordina vs. Anthony Cacace, 12 rounds, for Cordina’s IBF junior lightweight title
- Frank Sanchez vs. Agit Kabayel, 10 rounds, heavyweights
- Moses Itauma vs. Ilja Mezencev, 8 rounds, heavyweights
- Mark Chamberlain vs. Joshua Oluwaseun Wahab, 10 rounds, lightweights
- Sergey Kovalev vs. Robin Sirwan Safar, 10 rounds, cruiserweights
- Isaac Lowe vs. Hasibullah Ahmadi, 8 rounds, featherweights
- David Nyika vs. Michael Seitz, 8 rounds, cruiserweights