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On Saturday, in the main event of UFC 287 in Miami, former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will give it another go against his nemesis Alex Pereira.
The problem for Adesanya is that he’s 0-3 against Pereira, having been knocked out in the last two. The most recent finish came on Nov. 12 in New York when Pereira, trailing three rounds to one on all three scorecards, rallied to knock Adesanya out in the fifth round at UFC 281 to win the middleweight title. Pereira also was 2-0 against Adesanya in kickboxing, winning the second of the two bouts by third-round KO.
But after losing his UFC belt to Pereira in devastating fashion, Adesanya insisted upon a rematch, and got it. Some of his peers thought it wasn’t the best decision to go straight into another fight with Pereira. That school of thought goes that Adesanya should have taken a couple of fights to regain his confidence and work on new strategies he needs to defeat Pereira.
That, though, is not how Israel Adesanya operates. He wanted the rematch and wanted it as soon as possible. UFC president Dana White often refers to fighters as “gangsters” for taking difficult fights. If Adesanya pushing for a quick rematch after being down 0-3 and knocked out in back-to-back fights by Pereira is not gangster, nothing ever could be.
Adesanya is currently a -140 favorite at BetMGM and Pereira is +115.
In Saturday’s co-main event, Jorge Masvidal will fight Gilbert Burns needing a win to not only keep alive his dream of a bout with welterweight champion Leon Edwards, his bitter rival, but also to avoid the first four-fight losing streak of his career.
Burns is nearly a 5-1 favorite to win at BetMGM. Masvidal is currently a +340 underdog.
Eighteen-year-old prospect Raul Rosas Jr. opens the pay-per-view in a bantamweight clash against Christian Rodriguez followed by a welterweight bout between Kevin Holland and Santiago Ponzinibbio. Rob Font meets Adrian Yanez at 135 pounds immediately prior to the featured fights of the night.
Stay tuned to Yahoo Sports for all the news and results from the entire card.
UFC 287 live tracker
UFC 287 main card, odds (Start time 10 p.m. ET ESPN+ PPV)
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Middleweight: Alex Pereira (+115) vs. Israel Adesanya (-135)
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Welterweight: Gilbert Burns (-450) vs. Jorge Masvidal (+340)
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Bantamweight: Rob Font (+145) vs. Adrian Yanez (-175)
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Welterweight: Kevin Holland (-250) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio (+200)
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Bantamweight: Raul Rosas Jr. (-250) vs. Christian Rodriguez (+200)
UFC 287 prelims, odds (Start time 8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+)
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Middleweight: Kelvin Ga stelum (-145) vs. Chris Curtis (+120)
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Strawweight: Michelle Waterson-Gomez (+135) vs. Luana Pinheiro (-165)
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Middleweight: Gerald Meerschaert (+165) vs. Joe Pyfer (-200)
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Heavyweight: Karl Williams (-400) vs. Chase Sherman (+310)
UFC 287 early prelims, odds (Start time 6 p.m. ET, ESPN+/UFC FightPass)
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Strawweight: Cynthia Calvillo (+225) vs. Loopy Godinez (-275)
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Catchweight: Ignacio Bahamondes (-400) vs. Trey Ogden (+310)
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Featherweight: Shayilan Nuerdanbieke (-185) vs. Steve Garcia (+155)
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Strawweight: Jaqueline Amorim (-275) vs. Sam Hughes (+225)