The UFC returns to Miami for the first time in more than 20 years Saturday with UFC 287, which takes place at Miami-Dade Arena with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
A highly anticipated middleweight championship rematch receives top billing on the card. Reigning titleholder Alex Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will once again meet his rival Israel Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) in the main event in what will be their fourth career combat sports meeting. The Brazilian currently holds a 3-0 lead in the overall series.
For more on the numbers behind both headliners, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC 287.
Alex Pereira
Pereira is one of 12 undisputed middleweight champions in UFC history.
Pereira’s eight MMA fights before becoming UFC champion is the second fewest in modern history behind Brock Lesnar’s four.
Pereira, a former GLORY kickboxing champion, owns two victories over Adesanya in kickboxing and one in MMA.
Pereira’s four-fight UFC winning streak in middleweight competition is tied for the second-longest active streak in the division behind Dricus Du Plessis (five).
Pereira has earned six of his seven career victories by stoppage.
Pereira has earned all six of his career stoppage victories by knockout.
Israel Adesanya
Adesanya is one of 13 fighters in UFC history to win an undisputed title with an undefeated record.
Adesanya is one of 12 undisputed middleweight champions in UFC history.
Adesanya’s seven victories in UFC middleweight title fights are second-most in history behind Anderson Silva (11).
Adesanya’s average fight time of 17:55 in UFC middleweight competition is the longest in divisional history.
Adesanya’s 12 knockdowns landed in UFC middleweight competition are tied with Nate Marquardt for second-most in divisional history behind Silva (13).
Adesanya’s four knockdowns landed against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 are the single-fight record for a UFC title bout.
Adesanya’s seven fight-night bonuses for UFC middleweight bouts are tied for fourth-most in divisional history behind Silva (12), Yoel Romero (eight) and Robert Whittaker (eight).
Gilbert Burns
Gilbert Burns (21-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) becomes the third fighter to make two UFC appearances in 2023. Cynthia Calvillo and Charles Johnson also accomplished the feat.
Burns is 6-2 since he returned to the welterweight division in August 2019. He’s 7-2 when fighting at the weight class.
Burns’s three armbar submission victories in UFC competition are tied for third-most in company history.
Jorge Masvidal
Jorge Masvidal’s (35-16 MMA, 12-9 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since November 2019.
Masvidal is 7-7 since he returned to the welterweight division in July 2015.
Masvidal has earned all six of his UFC welterweight stoppage victories via strikes.
Masvidal’s five-second knockout of Ben Askren at UFC 239 is the record for fastest in UFC history.
Masvidal is one of five fighters in UFC history to finish a fight by submission at the 4:59 mark of Round 2. He accomplished the feat at UFC on FOX 8.
Rob Font vs. Adrian Yanez
Rob Font (19-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC) enters the event on the first losing skid of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since May 2021.
Font’s nine victories in the UFC’s bantamweight division are sixth-most in divisional history behind T.J. Dillashaw (13), Aljamain Sterling (13), Marlon Vera (12), Raphael Assuncao (12) and Urijah Faber (11).
Font’s five knockout victories in UFC bantamweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Dillashaw (seven) and Vera (six).
Font landed 271 significant strikes at UFC on ESPN 35, the single-fight record for a UFC bantamweight bout.
Adrian Yanez’s (16-3 MMA, 5-0 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak at bantamweight is tied for the third-longest active streak in the division behind Sterling (eight) and Merab Dvalishvili (eight).
Kevin Holland vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
Kevin Holland (23-9 MMA, 9-6 UFC) is 2-1 since he dropped to the UFC welterweight division in March 2022.
Holland has earned 19 of his 23 career victories by stoppage.
Holland has been taken down 24 times in his past seven UFC appearances.
Holland’s 21-day turnaround between UFC main events (UFC on ESPN 21 and UFC on ABC 2) is tied with Deiveson Figueiredo (UFC 255 and UFC 256) for the shortest span in company history.
Holland is one of three fighters in UFC history to go 5-0 in a calendar year. Roger Huerta (2007) and Neil Magny (2014) also accomplished the feat, but Holland did it the fastest at 210 days.
Santiago Ponzinibbio (29-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) has earned 22 of his 29 career victories by stoppage. That includes six of his UFC wins.
Ponzinibbio’s four first-round knockout victories in UFC welterweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Anthony Johnson (five) and Vicente Luque (five).
Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Christian Rodriguez
Raul Rosas Jr. (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), at 18, became the youngest fighter in history to earn an octagon victory when he won at UFC 282.
Rosas Jr. has earned six of his seven career victories by stoppage.
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Chris Curtis
Kelvin Gastelum (16-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Aug. 21, 2021. The 595-day layoff is the longest of his more than 12-year career.
Gastelum is 1-5 in his past six UFC appearances dating back to April 2019.
Gastelum is 5-6 with one no contest since he returned to the UFC middleweight division in December 2016.
Chris Curtis (30-9 MMA, 4-1 UFC) has earned 17 of his 18 career stoppage wins by knockout. That includes three of his four UFC wins.
Curtis has defended 100 percent of opponent takedown attempts in UFC competition, the highest rate in company history among fighters with at least 20 attempts on them.
Michelle Waterson-Gomez vs. Luana Pinheiro
Michelle Waterson-Gomez (18-10 MMA, 6-6 UFC) is 1-4 in her past five fights dating back to October 2019.
Karl Williams vs. Chase Sherman
Chase Sherman (14-11 MMA, 4-10 UFC) is 2-5 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in May 2020.
Gerald Meerschaert vs. Joe Pyfer
Gerald Meerschaert (35-15 MMA, 10-7 UFC) has earned 32 of his 34 career victories by stoppage. That includes all 10 of his UFC wins.
Meerschaert’s 10 stoppage victories in UFC middleweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind A. Silva (11).
Meerschaert’s nine submission victories in UFC middleweight competition are most in divisional history.
Meerschaert’s nine submission victories in UFC competition are tied for fourth-most in company history behind Charles Oliveira (16), Demian Maia (11) and Jim Miller (11).
Cynthia Calvillo vs. Loopy Godinez
Cynthia Calvillo’s (9-5-1 MMA, 6-5-1 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of her career. She hasn’t earned a victory since June 2020.
Calvillo is 1-4 in his past five fights since June 2020.
Calvillo returns to the strawweight division for the first time since December 2019.
Calvillo has completed at least one takedown against 10 of her 12 UFC opponents.
Calvillo’s three submission victories in UFC strawweight competition are tied for second-most in divisional history behind Mackenzie Dern (four).
Loopy Godinez (8-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) holds the modern-era record for shortest time between three UFC appearances at 42 days. She competed on Oct. 9, Oct. 16 and Nov. 20 of 2021.
Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Trey Ogden
Ignacio Bahamondes (13-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is one of 14 fighters in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a spinning wheel kick. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN 29.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.
