Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira Rematch Booked For UFC 287
In a surprise video announcement, Dana White revealed a bunch of breaking news. The most important piece of information is that Israel Adesanya is getting a rematch against Alex Pereira at UFC 287 on April 8. White also revealed that the co-main event will feature a welterweight bout between Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal.
It was evident that Adesanya and Pereira would share the octagon again. The pair have a storied rivalry that traces back to their days in kickboxing. In MMA, Pereira was able to get a TKO stoppage against Adesanya at UFC 281 to steal the middleweight title. At UFC 287, Adesanya will have a chance to reclaim his former title as the best middleweight in the world while getting his first combat sports victory over Pereira.
The co-main event of UFC 287 should be a special one. At this point, there are not many MMA fighters that are bigger stars than Masvidal. With Adesanya in the main event, the UFC is trying to gather all its stars for one night. Although, Burns is being given the chance to end the Masvidal hype once and for all. He has the skills to accomplish that too. More importantly, Burns is providing a lesson to every single fighter on the UFC roster. Only a couple of weeks ago he could not get a big fight. Instead of complaining, he dominated Neil Magny at UFC 283 and earned a massive opportunity.
The announcement of the co-main event also closes the book on UFC 287 featuring Aljamin Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo, which was rumored to be targeted for that card. Sure, that fight may still take place, it just won’t happen at UFC 287. With the announcement of Burns vs Masvidal as the co-main, it unofficially confirms that Sterling and Cejudo will not fight on that card.
The remainder of the UFC 287 main card will feature a stacked lineup. In White’s video, he announced that Kevin Holland will fight Santiago Ponzinibbio. Along with that, the main card will see Raul Rosas Jr, the UFC’s 18-year-old phenom, fight Christian Rodrguez. A bantamweight banger between Adrain Yanez and Rob Font will be on the slate as well. In total, the card has 11 confirmed bouts so there is room for a few more fights.
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