UFC 287 Preview (Pereira vs. Adesanya)
The UFC will be invading the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida for UFC 287 on Saturday April 8th. The main event will be a rematch for the middleweight title between bitter rivals Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya.
Pereira became champion in his last fight by defeating Adesanya with a fifth round TKO at UFC 281 in November. The champion was down on the scorecards after four hard fought rounds and needed a finish to win the title, he ended up catching Adesanya with his signature left hand to shock the world. Pereira is now 3-0 against Adesanya after defeating him twice in kickboxing before arriving to the UFC. He became one of the fastest UFC champions in winning gold after just four fights with the organization.
The Brazilian fighter believes a win on Saturday puts an end to the rivalry with Adesanya. “Me beating him this Saturday, I will never face him again,” Pereira said. Talks have already begun as to who Pereira could face next with a win. The champion is not looking that far into the future.
“This week I’m absolutely focused on Israel,” Pereira said. “But, talk about Whittaker and Paulo Costa, I know they wanna fight me. They were never disrespectful, they always kept their composure. But when you talked about Chimaev, he’s a kind of guy that seems to be a little lost. Talks too much.
A win by Adesanya would likely mean a trilogy fight and it would not be a tough sell to the fans. Many critics are surprised that Adesanya was granted an immediate rematch after being finished, but the former champion defended the belt five times; so hard to deny him his shot at redemption. He was on his way to middleweight immortality before a lapse in judgement in the final round of the last fight cost him the title. The biggest question is will Pereira force Adesanya to fight moving backwards, or will Adesanya find a way to nullify Pereira’s pressure.
The former champion believes he is the better fighter and he will prove it this time around.
"I know exactly what to do with this guy," Adesanya said. "If you watch me when I fight him, I have him every single time until I don't. I know exactly what to do.”
The 33-year-old knows what a win over Pereira will do for his MMA career. "I care about my legacy. It's not everything but it's important to me," Adesanya said. "The way I am remembered when I am done is important to me. The way I carry myself is important to me. The way I fight and the way people feel when I fight -- it's important to me but it's not everything.
"Once this is done, I'm going to ride off into the sunset and do something beautiful. The world is my oyster.”
Adesanya is arguably one of the top two middleweights in UFC history. A win on Saturday will put him back in the conversation as the best 185 pound champion of all-time. The Nigerian has key defeats over Jared Cannonier, Robert Whittaker (twice), Marvin Vettori (twice), Paulo Costa, Yoel Romero, Kelvin Gastelum, Anderson Silva and Derek Brunson. Despite the fact that this fight is for a title, it is difficult to ignore Adesanya’s desire to finally defeat a bitter foe, rather than win his belt back.
The co-main event of the evening will be in the welterweight division between former title challenger # 6 Gilbert Burns and fan favorite #11 Jorge Masvidal. The fight has title implications and if either wins in spectacular fashion, they could make a case to leapfrog Colby Covington to be the next to challenge Leon Edwards for welterweight gold.
Burns is coming off a first round submission win over Neil Magny at UFC 283 in January. The Brazilian won six straight fights before unsuccessfully challenging for the welterweight title at UFC 258. He is now 2-2 in his last four fights, but a win over hometown favorite Masvidal is what he needs to still remain in the title conversation.
Despite Masvidal’s current losing streak, Burns is not looking passed him towards a title shot. “Very dangerous. Crazy striking, lot of knockouts, 51 fights. Plus the ones that never went to the record. The backyard ones. For sure very experienced. Not coming from a win streak, coming from a losing streak, but very dangerous too. Very dangerous,” said Burns.
“Specially with his back against the wall, fighting at home, come from three loses. Fighting Gilbert Burns. Yeah bro, a lot of pressure on this guy and he seems like he deals good with the pressure.”
Masvidal most recently lost a unanimous decision to Colby Covington at UFC 272 over a year ago. Prior to his most recent loss he challenged for the welterweight title twice but lost by decision and KO to former champion Kamaru Usman. The Miami born fighter believes in his game plan against Burns.
“I’m going to punch him in the face. And then, guess what? I’m going to punch him in the face again. And then, guess what? I’m going to punch him in the face, in the body, I’m going to kick him in the leg, I’m going to kick him in the head. I’m going to stuff his takedowns, and I’m going to continue to punch him in the face and repeat that cycle, rinse that cycle, and repeat that cycle until I break him physically, mentally, and spiritually and my hand is raised,” Masvidal said.
“That’s how I’ve always approached the fights. I see what that guy does. I respect their strengths, but I don’t forget about my strength and what got me here. That’s these bad boys right here (looks at his hands), the above-average speed and power that I’ve been gifted... these God-given abilities. It’s no secret I’m not going to submit somebody off my back. Expect violence. Expect me to put a hole in somebody’s face. “
If Masvidal can win by finish, he will certainly have the fans on his side to be the next to challenge for the welterweight title, given the history he has with champion Leon Edwards. The two were involved in an altercation backstage in London in 2019. Masvidal was being interviewed after his KO victory of Darren Till and was ignited by Edwards who directed words his way interrupting the interview. Masvidal responded by approaching Edwards and landing a combination on the then hopeful contender. Edwards who is now a champion has expressed that he would like to settle the score with Masvidal, and the fans will certain back the idea if Masvidal can defeat Burns.
The Rest of the Main Card:
Bantamweight - #6 Rob Font vs. #12 Adrian Yanez
Welterweight - Kevin Holland vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
Catchweight - Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Christian Rodriguez
ESPN + Prelims:
Middleweight - #14 Kelvin Gastelum vs. #15 Chris Curtis
Women's Strawweight - #10 Michelle Waterson vs. #15 Luana Pinheiro
Middleweight - Gerald Meerschaert vs.Joe Pyfer
Heavyweight - Karl Williams vs.Chase Sherman
ESPN + Early Prelims:
Women's Strawweight - #15 Cynthia Calvillo vs. Lupita Godinez
Catchweight (160 lb) - Ignacio Bahamondes vs.Trey Ogden
Featherweight - Shayilan Nuerdanbiek vs. Steve Garcia
Women's Strawweight - Jaqueline Amorimvs. Sam Hughes
