UFC 287 ‘Pereira vs. Adesanya 2’ Fight Card and Rumors

The UFC will cap off a star-studded first quarter of fight action when the UFC middleweight champion, Alex Pereira, will put his newly-minted title at stake against Israel Adesanya in a highly-anticipated rematch at UFC 287. The bout and the rest of the action will take place Saturday, April 8, from Miami, Fla., as it’s the UFC’s first trip there since 2003.

Former UFC welterweight title challengers will compete for a No 1 contender spot in the event’s co-headlining attraction, as Jorge Masvidal returns after a year layoff to face Gilbert Burns, who is coming off a first-round submission win against Neil Magny at UFC 283. As for Masvidal, he lost his last outing to Colby Covington in March 2022, and due to a legal dispute between him and ‘Chaos’, he did not brace the Octagon again for the rest of the calendar year.

Based on what is publicly known about the UFC 287 fight card to this point, as it is always subject to change, here are confirmed or announced bouts from the promotion and sources close to the UFC.

Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya 2 is the main event and Jorge Masvidal vs. Gilbert Burns is the co-main event for UFC 287 per UFC President Dana White.

— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) January 27, 2023

Middleweight Championship: Alex Pereira (C) vs. Israel Adesanya

Welterweight Co-Main Event (3×5): Gilbert Burns vs. Jorge Masvidal
Welterweight (3×5): Kevin Holland vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
Bantamweight (3×5): Christian Rodriguez vs. Raul Rosas Jr.
Bantamweight (3×5): Rob Font vs. Adrian Yanez
Welterweight (3×5): Michael Chiesa vs. Li Jingliang
Middleweight (3×5): Kelvin Gastelum vs. Chris Curtis
Welterweight (3×5): Ian Garry vs. Song Kenan
Strawweight (3×5): Cynthia Calvillo vs. Loopy Godinez
Strawweight (3×5): Luana Pinheiro vs. Michelle Waterson
Lightweight (3×5): Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Nikolas Motta
Featherweight (3×5): Steve Garcia vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke
Middleweight (3×5): Gerald Meerschaert vs. Joe Pyfer

At press time, the event will be held at Miami-Dade Arena. Masvidal calls home in Florida, making it a perfect backdrop for such a big fight.

The event keeps the UFC’s early-April tradition of cards in tact, as the last several years have seen the UFC’s event schedule take over the first few weeks of April.

Who else would you like to see compete at UFC 287? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, Penn Nation!