By
Blake Roberts
Founder & Editor in Chief Updated: 04 April 2023
Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief
Blake Roberts is the founder of Betting.US and is currently heading the creative team as Editor in Chief. Born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Blake is a great sports fan, with football and basketball being his favorite. He’s our trusted voice for all betting-related matters.
Giving fans a break from all the fight action in March 2023, the UFC returns with a massive pay-per-view event during the first weekend of April. With the nature of the bouts scheduled and the history behind the main event, this card has the potential to be one of the most significant events of 2023 thus far even as online MMA sportsbooks gear up. UFC 287 is scheduled to take place in Miami, Florida.
The main event is a 5 round championship fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. This fight will be the fourth and possibly final meeting of the two kickboxing giants. Will Adesanya finally develop a game plan that allows him to beat Pereira, or will history repeat itself? The co-main event features Florida’s own Jorge Masvidal, a massive hometown hero competing against Gilbert Burns, who also lives and trains in Florida, in a three-round co-main event. Let’s take a closer look at each of the fights on this stacked card and the possible outcomes of each fight.
Most UFC fans are well aware of the long-standing rivalry between Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya and Alex “Poatan” Pereira. Pereira defeated Adesanya twice in kickboxing before the latter transitioned to MMA. Seemingly for Pereira, this wasn’t enough and he followed Adesanya into the sport. After finishing two of his three knockouts in the UFC by way of knockout, he was awarded a title shot and faced Adesanya at UFC 281 in November 2022.
Going into the fight, Adesanya was the clear favorite on paper. He had more fights in the UFC octagon than Pereira did in his entire UFC career. Additionally, he is also a decorated kickboxer with more than 100 fights under his belt. As the fans predicted, Adesanya controlled the majority of the fight, even scoring a crisp punch that wobbled Pereira at the end of the first round.
A decision win for Adesanya seemed like a foregone conclusion until Pereira checked a leg kick that caused a nerve to shut off in Adesanya’s leg. This small defensive move would prove to be monumental as it allowed Pereira to advance and land a flurry of heavy-handed punches, including his famous short-left hook that forced the referee to step in and call the fight off.
The nature of Pereira’s win was much like his victory in their second kickboxing bout. Adesanya was essentially winning until he got knocked out. Having been knocked out by the same man twice, will Adesanya adopt a different approach to this rematch? It’s hard to tell. He could win on points if he can avoid getting knocked out. However, “Poatan” translates to ‘hands of stone’ and Pereira just has to connect once to score the knockout. Therefore, it’s hard to say that Adesanya has this one in the bag convincingly. We pick Pereira to win by KO.
Despite the recent controversies and not winning a fight since 2019, Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal remains one of the UFC’s biggest stars. However, his recent form is indicative of the odds being stacked against him in his upcoming bout against Gilbert “Durinho” Burns. This fight is sure to get the arena buzzing as both fighters are from Miami, although Masvidal might be a slight favorite, thanks to his long association with the city.
However, fighting isn’t a popularity contest, and on paper, Gilbert Burns has been on a good run recently, losing a unanimous decision to Khamzat Chimaev despite putting up a vicious fight. He bounced back by submitting Neil Magny in 45 seconds. On the other hand, Masvidal is on a three-fight skid, one of which was a violent knockout administered by former champion Kamaru Usman. GIlbert Burns’ combined striking and grappling abilities might prove to be too much for Masvidal, and we see this fight going the distance with a decision win for Burns.
The undefeated Adrian Yanez takes on bantamweight veteran Rob Font, who is rated the underdog at most sportsbooks. Despite being on a skid, Font is a seasoned pro with 25 fights in the octagon and could prove to be Yanez’s biggest challenge to date. We expect the undefeated prospect to carve out a decision win over 15 minutes.
Crowd favorite Kevil Holland will face Santiago Ponzinibbio in a welterweight bout. Both fighters are known for their aggressive fighting styles. Ponzinibbio has legitimate power in his hands, with 16 KO wins to his name. His recent injuries could affect his performance. If he is unable to score the knockout, Kevin Holland will likely take the decision win.
The first fight on the main card is between 18-year-old Raul Rosas Jr and Christian Rodriguez in the bantamweight division. For those who bet on UFC fights, the teenage prospect is also the betting favorite for this matchup – his surest path to victory will be via submission.
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