The last time the UFC touched down in Miami was for UFC 42 in April 2003, with a pay-per-view show subtitled “Sudden Impact.”
On Saturday night at the Kaseya Center, the high-impact performances came early, often, surprisingly and spectacularly, beginning early in the evening and continued all the way through to the middleweight championship rematch between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya.
UFC 287: Pereira vs Adesanya 2 Results
Main Event: Israel Adesanya defeats Alex Pereira by KO (right hand) at 4:21 of Round 2
Co-Main Event: Gilbert Burns defeats Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Rob Font defeats Adrian Yanez by TKO (strikes) at 2:57 of Round 1
Kevin Holland defeats Santiago Ponzinibbio by KO (left hook) at 3:16 of Round 3
Christian Rodriguez defeats Raul Rosas Jr. by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Kelvin Gastelum defeats Chris Curtis by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Luana Pinheiro (29-28, 29-28) defeats Michelle Waterson-Gomez (29-28) by split decision
Joe Pyfer defeats Gerald Meerschaert by TKO (strikes) at 3:15 of Round 1
Loopy Godinez (30-27, 29-28) defeats Cynthia Calvillo by split decision (29-28)
Ignacio Bahamondes defeats Trey Ogden by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Steve Garcia defeats Shayilan Nuerdanbieke by KO (strikes) at 0:36 of Round 2
Sam Hughes defeats Jaqueline Amorim by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
UFC 287: Pereira vs Adesanya 2 Main Card Results
Main Event: Israel Adesanya defeats Alex Pereira by KO (right hand) at 4:21 of Round 2
Israel Adesanya is the UFC middleweight champion again after knocking out Alex Pereira in the second round. The bitter rivals went one-for-one through much of the first two rounds, with Pereira chopping at Adesanya’s legs, and the challenger fighting with more forward pressure and urgency than in their last meeting. Just when Pereira pressed forward, looking to punish a seemingly hurt Adesanya, “The Last Stylebender” uncorked a right hand that landed flush and dazed the champion, with the follow-up right putting him on the canvas, out cold.
Just an absolutely tantalizing finish from the Nigerian-born, Auckland-based standout, who reclaims the middleweight title in style.
Co-Main Event: Gilbert Burns defeats Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Gilbert Burns marched into Miami and beat the city’s favorite fighting son, Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal, in Saturday’s co-main event.
A tense, competitive first round ended with the Brazilian having some late success, and early in the second, Burns put Masvidal on the deck, roughing him up a little on the ground. He stayed sticky as they rose to their feet, dumped him back to the canvas a second time, and caught him with a right hand when they got back up late in the frame. Masvidal started well in the third, but a big right hand from Burns shifted the tides back in the favor of “Durinho.”
This was a sharp, tactical victory for the talented contender, who has now earned a pair of Top 10 victories to start his 2023 campaign. He’s clearly one of the top talents in the welterweight division, so it will be interesting to see what’s next for Saturday’s victor.
ufc.com
