Zuffa Boxing 13 start time, fight card, predictions and where to watch Carlos Adames vs. Gerome Warburton

WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames will make his Zuffa Boxing debut on Saturday when he faces Gerome Warburton in the main event of Zuffa Boxing 13 from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Rather than defending his title, Adames will be battling Warburton at super middleweight.

Adames has long been one of the best talents in a struggling middleweight division, making him one of the bigger signings in Zuffa's young history.

In October 2022, Adames defeated Juan Macias Montiel to win the interim WBC title. After successfully defending the interim belt against Julian Williams, Adames was promoted to full champion after Jermall Charlo was stripped of his title.

Since becoming full champion, Adames has retained the title with a win over Terrell Gausha, a draw against Hamzah Sheeraz and a win over Austin "Ammo" Williams. Adames joins Aaron McKenna, who won the IBF title at Zuffa Boxing 10, as middleweight world champions under Zuffa control.

Warburton is a step down in competition for Adames. Adames is far and away the best fighter Warburton has faced in his career.

Warburton will enter Saturday's fight on a three-fight winning streak since a fourth-round TKO loss to Kieron Conway. Two of those recent victories came against fellow Englishman Nathan Heaney.

Let's take a closer look at the rest of the fight card set for Saturday night in Saudi Arabia before getting to a prediction and expert pick on the main event below.

Zuffa Boxing 13 fight card

Carlos Adames vs. Gerome Warburton, super middleweights

Andres Teran -125 vs. Jason Moloney -106, bantamweights

Bruno Surace vs. Kamil Bednarek, super middleweights

Radzhab Butaev vs. Alexander Castro, middleweights

Ivan Ortiz vs. Dariial Kuchmenov, lightweights

Rakhmatullo Boymatov vs. Moro Inusah Kanla, light heavyweights

Jakhongir Zokirov vs. Brandon Colantonio, heavyweights

Rayan Awaji vs. Sudais Lubega, welterweights

Abdualaziz Alotebi vs. Ezra Ssaili, featherweights

Prediction

There's not much mystery to how this fight is likely to play out. Adames has been proving himself against elite middleweights for years, while Warburton has not sniffed the world championship level. That's not to take a shot at Warburton, who is a solid B-tier fighter, but rather to set a base level of expectations.

Adames should cruise on Saturday, with the bigger question being how Adames looks moving up a division to super middleweight. It's unlikely Adames sticks at super middle, but it could be a bit of a glimpse into the future.