The main event on the UFC 287 main card featured the Middleweight Title Fight and grudge match between Alex Poatan Periera and Israel Adesanya.
Alex Pereira (8-1 MMA) saw one of the fastest rises and captures of the title in UFC history when he defeated his nemesis Israel Adesanya at UFC 281 in November 2022. One of the scariest strikes with devastating 1-punch knockout power, he finished Adesanya in the 5th round of their title fight after being down on the judges scorecards going into the 5th. This is the 4th meeting between the two kickboxing specialists, with Pereira being 3-0 currently with 1 decision win and 2 KO wins. The results do not do the competitiveness of the fights justice however, with fans believing Israel won the first decision between the two and him being up on the scorecards in both fights before he was finished. Either way, Poatan will look to put this rivalry to bed with his first successful title defence at UFC 287.
Israel Adesanya (23-2 MMA) has been flawless at middleweight until his most recent loss to the champion in the UFC. A once dominant champion, his 9 fight win streak in the UFC saw him capture the belt and beat some of the divisions best fighters in dominant fashion. He dared to be great when he stepped up to face Jan Błachowicz where he was handed his first MMA loss. Never-the-less, he returned to middleweight to continue his run, amassing 3 more wins and ending with a 12-0 record before running into rival Pereira.
A true striker’s delight, this fight is guaranteed to deliver. With bad blood and KO potential on each side, these two warriors are guaranteed to leave it all in the octagon.
UFC Fighters React After Israel Adesanya Defeats Alex Periera Via KO in Round 2 at UFC 287
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
