UFC 287

2023 - 1 - 28

Post cover
Image courtesy of "CBSSports.com"

UFC 287 fight card: Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya 2, Gilbert Burns ... (CBSSports.com)

A middleweight title rematch is on deck for the spring while a pair of rivals at welterweight finally clash.

Pereira defeated Adesanya twice in the kickboxing ring. With the win, Pereira won the middleweight championship in just his fourth UFC bout and eighth professional bout overall. Adesanya will rematch new champion Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 287 on April 8, UFC president Dana White announced on Friday.

Post cover
Image courtesy of "ESPN"

Alex Pereira to defend title vs. Israel Adesanya at UFC 287 (ESPN)

Reigning UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira will defend his title against former champ Israel Adesanya in the co-main event of UFC 287 on April 8.

Masvidal (35-16) has lost three straight but remains one of the biggest stars on the UFC roster. [Ben Askren](http://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/2500597/ben-askren) in 2019. Pereira, 35, was once one of the best kickboxers in the world, holding Glory titles at middleweight and light heavyweight. [Jan Blachowicz](http://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/2506250/jan-blachowicz). [Jorge Masvidal](http://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/2500857/jorge-masvidal) will return against [Gilbert Burns](http://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/3090197/gilbert-burns) in the other co-main event, while popular welterweight [Kevin Holland](http://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/3943695/kevin-holland) will take on [Santiago Ponzinibbio](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/3043484/santiago-ponzinibbio) on the main card, White said. [Israel Adesanya](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/4285679/israel-adesanya) will attempt to get his title back in a fourth fight against rival [Alex Pereira](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/4705658/alex-pereira) this spring.

Post cover
Image courtesy of "MMA Junkie"

Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya middleweight title rematch official ... (MMA Junkie)

Alex Pereira will put his UFC middleweight title on the line for the first time in a rematch against former champ Israel Adesanya in April.

- Gerald Meeerschaert vs. - Rob Font vs. - Gilbert Burns vs. - Alex Pereira vs. [knockout in the fifth round](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2022/11/ufc-281-results-alex-pereira-vs-israel-adesanya-video-knockout-tko) in the main event of UFC 281 to become the middleweight champion. UFC president Dana White [officially announced](https://youtu.be/zckWxXA8K2w) the bout Friday.

Post cover
Image courtesy of "Yahoo Sports"

UFC 287: Israel Adesanya to face Alex Pereira in middleweight title ... (Yahoo Sports)

The UFC middleweight title rematch everyone was expecting is coming in April. New UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira will face Israel Adesanya, ...

Post cover
Image courtesy of "New Zealand Herald"

UFC 287: Israel Adesanya booked for middleweight title rematch ... (New Zealand Herald)

Israel Adesanya will go on the hunt in April to reclaim the UFC middleweight championship. After losing his belt to Alex Pereira in November last year, ...

Even after the first round, I knew he was going to come strong because he was down. While he didn’t agree with the stoppage, Adesanya was humble in his defeat and gave credit to Pereira’s performance. Pereira backed Adesanya up against the fence, unloaded and the referee stepped in to wave the fight off. Adesanya ran off 12 straight wins in the middleweight division – seven of those being title fights. Adesanya had Pereira on wobbly legs late in the first round but ran out of time to capitalise, and the break between rounds allowed Pereira to recover. “He’s durable and he recovers well.

Post cover
Image courtesy of "MMAWeekly"

Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya rematch booked for UFC 287 (MMAWeekly)

Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya will rematch for the middleweight championship in the UFC 287 main event on April 8 in Miami.

UFC president [Dana White](https://www.mmaweekly.com/tag/dana-white) made the announcement on Friday. It will be Pereira’s first title defense after scoring a come-from-behind knock out win over Adesanya in the final round of their UFC 281 match in November. [Alex Pereira](https://www.mmaweekly.com/tag/alex-pereira) and [Israel Adesanya](https://www.mmaweekly.com/tag/israel-adesanya) will rematch for the middleweight championship in the UFC 287 main event on April 8.

Post cover
Image courtesy of "MMA Fighting"

Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya 2, Gilbert Burns vs. Jorge Masvidal ... (MMA Fighting)

The main card for UFC 287 has now been announced with Alex Pereira defending his middleweight title against Israel Adesanya and Gilbert Burns taking on ...

The main event see Pereira make his first title defense after a stunning fifth-round comeback to knock out Adesanya in their first MMA encounter this past November. [Kevin Holland](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/4384/kevin-holland) and [Santiago Ponzinibbio](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/2211/santiago-ponzinibbio) clash on the main card along with previously announced fights pitting [Raul Rosas Jr.](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/6132/raul-rosas-jr) against [Christian Rodriguez](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/5835/christian-rodriguez) and [Rob Font](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/2918/rob-font) taking on [Adrian Yanez](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/3552/adrian-yanez). [Gilbert Burns](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/2911/gilbert-burns) welcomes [Jorge Masvidal](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/520/jorge-masvidal) back to action after more than a year away from the sport. Pereira previously held two wins over Adesanya in kickboxing, including a vicious knockout in their second fight, which then set the stage for their showdown in the UFC. [Dana White](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/2230/dana-white) announced the rematch on Friday. [Alex Pereira](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/5800/alex-pereira) and [Israel Adesanya](https://www.mmafighting.com/fighter/4366/israel-adesanya) will clash again with the middleweight title up for grabs in the new main event booked for UFC 287 on April 8.

Post cover
Image courtesy of "The Official Website of the Ultimate Fighting Championship"

UFC 287 Headlined By Alex Pereira And Israel Adesanya (The Official Website of the Ultimate Fighting Championship)

Middleweight Champion Alex Pereira Looks To Defend His Belt Against Former Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya At UFC 287 On April 8.

For four rounds, the pair battled it out in a war of nerves that thrilled the capacity crowd, but in the fifth, it was Pereira scoring the come from behind stoppage at 2:01 of the round to win the middleweight title. Familiar foes who met each other twice on the pro kickboxing circuit, Pereira and Adesanya have long been on a collision course in the sport of mixed martial arts, and after Brazil’s Pereira raced out to three impressive wins in the Octagon, he was matched up with Adesanya, one of the UFC’s most dominant titleholders, in the main event of UFC 281 last November in Madison Square Garden. [Alex Pereira](/athlete/alex-pereira) and [Israel Adesanya ](athlete/israel-adesanya)will run it back in the main event of UFC 287 on April 8, with Pereira vowing to put an end to this rivalry once and for all while Adesanya looks to regain the crown and even the score.

Explore the last week