Israel Adesanya beat Alex Pereira to reclaim the UFC middleweight title at UFC 287. Photo / Getty Images
Israel Adesanya beat Alex Pereira to reclaim the UFC middleweight title at UFC 287. Photo / Getty Images
Follow the action as Israel Adesanya looks to return to the top of the UFC middleweight division against Alex Pereira at UFC 287.
What’s happening?
Israel Adesanya will look to reclaim his place at the top of the UFC middleweight division when he takes on Alex Pereira at UFC 287 in Miami on Sunday afternoon.
The bout is an immediate rematch following their meeting at Madison Square Garden last November, where Adesanya had fought his way to a good lead on the scorecards before ultimately being stopped in the fifth round to see Pereira leave New York with the belt.
It will be the fourth meeting between the two, with their rivalry going back to their days in kickboxing, and Pereira has come away with the result every time they have fought so far, despite Adesanya often having his Brazilian counterpart in trouble.
This will be Adesanya’s 10th UFC title fight in a row, and the 10th time he has headlined a UFC pay-per-view event.
“I’m expecting the unexpected. I’m ready for everything,” Adesanya told the Herald of the matchup. “I expect him to strike, I expect him to grapple because he got me down at the end of that second round unexpectedly. I expect him to do what he does, but I’m unpredictable as well.”
The main card starts at 2pm, with Adesanya and Pereira expected to take to the cage sometime between 4-5pm.
Alex Pereira beat Israel Adesanya via fifth round TKO to claim the UFC middleweight belt last November. Photo / Getty Images
Alex Pereira is most likely the hardest-hitting middleweight in the UFC. Nicknamed Poatan – which means ‘hands of stone’ in Brazil’s native Tupi language – he possesses one-punch knockout power which he has shown throughout his career in kickboxing and mixed martial arts.
Pereira is a very smart striker and knows how to set up his power shots, and uses his footwork well to close the distance between himself and his opponent. His grappling leaves a lot to be desired, but he is comfortable relying on his power when the pressure is on.
“When it comes to power, he’s got that. He packs a punch, but so do I,” Adesanya said in summation of his opponent.
Pereira is also a big-bodied middleweight (84kg) and would not look out of place fighting a division up at light heavyweight (93kg). He is well coached by former UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira, training out of Teixeira’s gym in Connecticut.
Pereira holds a 7-1 MMA record – with his only loss coming by submission in the first fight of his career. Since he joined the UFC in 2021, he is unbeaten in four fights – three of those wins coming by knockout.
Is anyone else from down this way fighting?
Nope. For the first time since March 2020, Adesanya does not have a teammate from Auckland’s City Kickboxing gym competing on the same card, and there are no fighters from Australia on this one either.
Ok, then who else should I be paying attention to on this card?
There are a whole lot of good fights on this card, but a few intriguing rising prospects to keep an eye on are bantamweights Raul Rosas Jr and Adrian Yanez. At just 18 years old, Rosas Jr is the youngest fighter on the UFC roster and looks to have the talent to go a long way in the sport. His bout against Christain Rodriguez will be his second in the UFC, after a first-round submission in his debut last December. No 12 ranked Yanez gets his first chance at taking on a ranked opponent after winning four of his first five UFC fights by knockout. He meets No 6 Rob Font in a battle between strong, durable strikers. It’s a good level test for Yanez and a matchup that looks very tough to pick.
As far as fight of the night contenders go, Kelvin Gastelum v Chris Curtis stands out as one not to miss. The two ranked middleweights will square off in the last fight before the action switches to pay-per-view.
The main card, which includes Adesanya v Pereira II, gets underway around 2pm and can be purchased on Sky Arena, Spark Sport and Sky Sport Now for $39.35. The prelims are being broadcast on ESPN, Prime TV and Sky Sport Now from midday, while the early prelims kick off proceedings at 10am and are only available on the UFC’s subscription service UFC Fight Pass.
The Herald will also be running a live blog of the main card on nzherald.co.nz.
