| UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya 2 | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | April 8, 2023 (2023-04-08) | |||
| Venue | Kaseya Center | |||
| City | Miami, Florida, United States | |||
| Attendance | 19,032[1] | |||
| Total gate | $11,943,363.20[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya 2 was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 8, 2023, at theKaseya Center inMiami, Florida, United States.[2]
The event marked the promotion's second visit to Miami and first sinceUFC 42 in April 2003.[2]
AUFC Middleweight Championship rematch between current championAlex Pereira (also formerGlory Middleweight andLight Heavyweight Champion) and former championIsrael Adesanya headlined the event.[3] The pairing previously met atUFC 281 in which Pereira captured the title by fifth-round knockout.[4] The two also previously met twice in kickboxing matchups: the first in April 2016 atGlory of Heroes 1, which Pereira won by unanimous decision, and their second atGlory of Heroes 7 in March 2017, which Pereira won by third-round knockout.[5]
Nikolas Motta was expected to faceIgnacio Bahamondes in a lightweight bout.[6] However, Motta pulled out in late March due to a cut on his head.[7] He was replaced by Trey Ogden at a catchweight of 160 pounds.[8]
A welterweight bout betweenThe Ultimate Fighter: Live lightweight winnerMichael Chiesa andLi Jingliang was expected to take place at the event.[9] However, Li withdrew from the bout due to a back injury and the bout was scrapped.[10][11]
Chris Barnett was expected to faceChase Sherman in a heavyweight bout.[12] However, Barnett pulled out due to undisclosed reasons in early April and was replaced by Karl Williams.[13] In turn, Sherman withdrew the day of the event due to a medical issue and the bout was scrapped.[14]
At the weigh-ins, Christian Rodriguez weighed in at 137 pounds, one pound over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 20% of his purse which went to his opponentRaul Rosas Jr.[15]
During the event's broadcast, it was announced that aUFC Welterweight Championship bout that took place in July 2015 atUFC 189 between then championRobbie Lawler and challengerRory MacDonald was the next "fight wing"UFC Hall of Fame inductee. Lawler defended the title via fifth-round TKO. It was also a rematch of a November 2013 fight in which Lawler also won (via split decision).[16]
| Main card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Middleweight | Israel Adesanya | def. | Alex Pereira (c) | KO (punches) | 2 | 4:21 | [a] |
| Welterweight | Gilbert Burns | def. | Jorge Masvidal | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Rob Font | def. | Adrian Yañez | TKO (punches) | 1 | 2:57 | |
| Welterweight | Kevin Holland | def. | Santiago Ponzinibbio | KO (punch) | 3 | 3:16 | |
| Catchweight (137 lb) | Christian Rodriguez | def. | Raul Rosas Jr. | Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Middleweight | Kelvin Gastelum | def. | Chris Curtis | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Luana Pinheiro | def. | Michelle Waterson-Gomez | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Joe Pyfer | def. | Gerald Meerschaert | TKO (punches) | 1 | 3:15 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Lupita Godinez | def. | Cynthia Calvillo | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Catchweight (160 lb) | Ignacio Bahamondes | def. | Trey Ogden | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Steve Garcia | def. | Shayilan Nuerdanbieke | KO (body kick and punches) | 2 | 0:36 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Sam Hughes | def. | Jaqueline Amorim | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[18]
