Israel Adesanya will look to reclaim the middleweight world championship when he faces Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 287, set for the Miami-Dade Arena on the morning of Sunday 9 April 2023.
Pereira (7-1) defeated Adesanya (23-2) via a fifth-round TKO when the pair faced off in a championship clash at UFC 281 in New York in November last year. The result not only handed Adesanya a first professional MMA defeat at middleweight (his only other loss was against Jan Blachowicz in a light heavyweight title bid), but also saw Pereira continue his dominance over the Nigerian-New Zealander, having claimed two kick-boxing wins over him in 2016 and 2017.
‘The Last Stylebender’ says he is more determined to finally get one over his Brazilian nemesis than to win back the title: “I’ve never not been motivated to fight this guy, but for this one, I’ve put the pressure on myself,” explained the 33-year-old.
“Like, f*** the belt, f*** everything else. I have to beat this guy, so that’s my motivation, just beating him. Like I said, they can say whatever they want, it’s 1-0 or 3-0. I don’t keep score, I settle them and I just need one and I’m going to get it done.”
Pereira, meanwhile, has intimated that he would be keen on following in Adesanya’s footsteps and having a crack at the light heavyweight title, having recently taken aim at Jamahal Hill, who won that division’s title with a triumph over the legendary Glover Teixeira (one of Pereira’s mentors).
Another major clash at UFC 287 is a welterweight co-main event which sees Gilbert Burns (21-5) take on Jorge Masvidal (35-16), with the former hoping to secure a victory which will take him closer to another title shot (having been beaten by Kamaru Usman in a battle for the belt in February 2021).
“I don’t think it’s gonna be easy,” Burns explained. “I think it’s gonna be bloody. I think you’re gonna get to a point that we’re gonna bang, you’re going to a war, and let’s see a finish. You know, maybe second, maybe late third round. But I’m looking forward to a finish.
“And then whatever it takes. It could be a jiu-jitsu, it could be submission, could be a knockout, it could be a TKO or whatever it is. I’m looking forward to finishing Jorge Masvidal at UFC 287.”
The rest of the main card features Rob Font v Adrian Yanez in the bantamweight division; a welterweight showdown between Kevin Holland and Santiago Ponzinibbio; and a bantamweight opener between Raul Rosas Jr and Christian Rodriguez.
UFC 287 – Main card
- Main event: Middleweight championship: Alex Pereira v Israel Adesanya
- Welterweight: Gilbert Burns v Jorge Masvidal
- Bantamweight: Rob Font v Adrian Yanez
- Welterweight: Kevin Holland v Santiago Ponzinibbio
- Bantamweight: Raul Rosas Jr v Christian Rodriguez
