On Saturday, in the main event of UFC 287 in Miami, former Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya will give his opponent another shot against Alex Pereira.
Adesanya’s problem is that he is 0-3 against Pereira, having been knocked out in the last two. The finale came on November 12 in New York when Pereira, trailing three rounds to one on all three scorecards, rallied to eliminate Adesanya in the fifth round at UFC 281 to win the middleweight title. Pereira was also 2-0 against Adesanya in kickboxing, winning the second match from two matches by third round KO.
But after losing his UFC belt to Pereira in devastating fashion, Adesanya insisted on a rematch, and he got it. Some of his peers thought it wasn’t the best decision to go straight into another fight with Pereira. That school of thought goes that Adesanya should have fought a couple of fights to regain his confidence and work on new strategies he needed to defeat Pereira.
However, this is not how Israel Adesanya works. He wanted a rematch and he wanted it as soon as possible. UFC President Dana White often refers to the fighters as “gangsters” for putting up tough fights. If Adesanya pressing for a quick rematch after losing 0-3 and being knocked out in back-to-back fights by Pereira isn’t a gangster, nothing could ever be.
Adesanya is currently a 140 favorite at BetMGM And Pereira is +115.
In Saturday’s co-main event, Jorge Masvidal will fight Gilbert Burns needing a win to not only keep his dream bout with welterweight champion Leon Edwards, his arch-rival, but also to avoid the first four-game losing streak of his career. .
Burns is roughly a 5-1 favorite to win at BetMGM. Masvidal is currently +340 Unfiltered.
Eighteen-year-old Raul Rosas Jr. opened the pay-per-view in a bantamweight bout against Cristian Rodriguez followed by a welterweight bout between Kevin Holland and Santiago Ponzenepo. Rob Font meets Adrian Yanez at 135 pounds right before the featured fights of the night.
Stay tuned with Yahoo Sports for all the news and results from the entire card.
UFC 287 Live Tracker
UFC 287 main card, odds (start time 10 p.m. ET ESPN + PPV)
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Middleweight: Alex Pereira (+115) vs. Israel Adesanya (-135)
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Lightweight: Gilbert Burns (-450) vs. Jorge Masvidal (+340)
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Bantamweight: Rob Font (+145) vs. Adrien Yanez (-175)
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Welterweight: Kevin Holland (-250) vs. Santiago Ponzenebeo (+200)
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Bantamweight: Raul Rosas Jr. (-250) vs. Cristian Rodriguez (+200)
UFC 287 prelims, odds (live now on ESPN/ESPN+)
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Middleweight: Kelvin Gastelum (-145) vs. Chris Curtis (+120)
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Strawweight: Michelle Watterson-Gomez (+135) vs. Luana Pinheiro (-165)
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Middleweight: Joe Perver defeated Gerald Meerschaert by TKO (punches) at 3:15 from R1
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Heavyweight: Carl Williams (-400) vs. Chase Sherman (+310) -
Strawweight: Loopy Godinez def. Cynthia Calvillo by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Early UFC 287 results, highlights
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Catchweight (160 lbs.): Ignacio Bahamonds def. Trey Ogden via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
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Featherweight: Steve Garcia def. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke by KO (liver shots) at 0:36 from R2: