Our UFC 287 predictions are here for tonight’s stacked card in Miami, Florida. In the main event, middleweight champion Alex Pereira looks to defend his belt against martial arts nemesis Israel Adesanya in the rematch. Pereira and Adesanya have fought three times before, through kickboxing and MMA, and Pereira is looking to stamp his bragging rights over Adesanya for good.
In the co-main, welterweight contender Gilbert Burns is set to take on the BMF, king of Miami Jorge Masvidal. Expect nothing but non-stop action from the opening bell for these two.
UFC 287 Predictions
Middlweight title – Pereira vs Adesanya
Alex Pereira and his following to Adesanya to an entirely different sport in order to take his title will go down in history. Adesanya’s only loss at middleweight is to Pereira, with him seeming to be the only person to have the kickboxing chops to equal him.
Pereira is up 3-0 altogether, but as we know in this sport every fight is different. Pereira was on his way to a pretty obvious decision lost before he got what was, for some, a pretty lacklustre finish in the last round of the fight. Adesanya had him hurt multiple times. Pereira has the power, and has the potential to use it against Adesanya with the newfound confidence of a champion. I see the fight being a closer decision this time, but I think Adesanya’s style suits that more.
Staff picking Pereira: Kameron Cavanagh
Staff picking Adesanya: Ella Earle, Billy Darlington, Lewis Simpson, Lewis Glover, Dan Evans
Welterweight – Gilbert Burns vs Jorge Masvidal
A fight I am surprised got made, contender Gilbert Burns takes on Jorge Masivdal in the BMF’s hometown tonight.
Gilbert’s bjj and his striking prowess took him to a close decision with Khamzat Chimaev, and has shown that he can wrestle strikers when needed when he took on wonderboy. Masvidal has shown to struggle with grapplers in the past, so unless Burns gets caught in a war with Jorge from the crowd, this is a comfortable win for him.
Staff picking Burns: Ella Earle, Billy Darlington, Lewis Simpson, Lewis Glover, Dan Evans
Staff picking Masvidal: Kameron Cavanagh
Bantamweight – Rob Font vs Adrian Yanez
Adrian Yanez’ boxing has taken him very far in his career. Both him and Rob Font have great striking skills, so this match making is some of the best I have seen.
Unfortunately, Yanez’ striking seems so good that it slightly edges Font’s. Unless one of them mixes it up and brings something g to the table the other is not expecting, I see Yanez getting a decision.
Staff picking Font: Billy Darlington, Ella Earle, Dan Evans, Lewis Simpson
Staff picking Yanez: Lewis Glover, Kameron Cavanagh
Welterweight – Kevin Holland vs Santiago Ponzinibbio
Kevin Holland, bigmouth, one of the most fun fighters on the roster, takes on Argentinian Santagio Ponzinibbio.
Ponzinibbio had a long lay off from 2018-2021, and has since gone 2-3 since. Two of his losses have been split decisions, but the fact is that he has not much momentum coming into this other than name value from before his injury. The only way he wins is if he prevents Holland’s funky style by taking him down or by keeping a lot of distance. I see Holland winning this, but only narrowly.
Staff picking Holland: Billy Darlington, Kameron Cavanagh, Dan Evans, Lewis Glover, Ella Earle, Lewis Simpson
Staff picking Ponzinibbio:
Bantamweight – Raul Rosas Jr. vs Christian Rodriguez
I’m so curious about Raul Rosas Jr. He is so young, and as with any young fighter their potential is limitless. Their ceiling is also very low. We simply just don’t know.
Rodriguez’ weight miss Friday makes me much more confident in my pick, and the fact that Rosas has ran through everybody he has fought makes me even more confident. Whether this will last, who knows. Maybe Rosas will gain the belt at 21 and retire at 25. Either way, he wins tonight.
Staff picking Rosas Jr: Billy Darlington, Kameron Cavanagh, Dan Evans, Lewis Glover, Ella Earle, Lewis Simpson
Staff picking Rodriguez:
What do you think of our UFC 287 predictions?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
