UFC 287: Start Time, Who’s Fighting & Who to Watch

UFC 287 marks the fourth encounter between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya. The two kickboxers have feuded for the better part of 7 years, with the Brazilian coming out on top every single time. On April 9, Adesanya gets his chance to avenge his only UFC middleweight loss and overcome his biggest nemesis, “Poatan.”

On the other hand, Pereira has the opportunity to put the final nail in the coffin of the Pereira/Adesanya saga. Before then, however, a star-studded lineup of fights takes precedence, and at an earlier start time too. Here’s everything you need to know about UFC 287.

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UFC 287 Start Time

(via UFC)

• UFC 287 early prelims begin at 6 p.m. Eastern time
• UFC 287 prelims begin at 8 p.m. Eastern time
• UFC 287 main card begins at 10 p.m. Eastern time
• UFC 287 main event is expected to take place at roughly 1-2 a.m. Eastern time

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Who’s Fighting? UFC 287

(via UFC)

Early Prelims:

• Jaqueline Amorim vs. Sam Hughes
• Shayilan Neurdanbieke vs. Steve Garcia
• Ignacio Bahamondes vs.  Nikolas Motta Trey Ogden (Motta injury)
• Cynthia Calvillo vs. Loopy Godinez

Prelims:

• Chris Barnett Karl Williams vs. Chase Sherman (Barnett out, undisclosed)
• Gerald Meerschaert vs. Joe Pyfer
• Michelle Waterson-Gomez vs. Luana Pinheiro
• Chris Curtis vs. Kelvin Gastelum
• Michael Chiesa vs. Li Jingliang Fight cancelled (Jingliang injury)

Main card:

• Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Christian Rodriguez
• Kevin Holland vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
• Rob Font vs. Adrian Yanez
• Gilbert Burns vs. Jorge Masvidal
• (c) Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya

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UFC 287 Full Card Breakdown & Who to Watch

Our night starts off in the women’s strawweight division. “Sampage” Sam Hughes looks to rebound from a loss with a win over the undefeated Jaqueline Amorim. Amorim, a former LFA strawweight champion, holds a 100% finish rate in six victories and debuts with high hopes in the UFC. Does Hughes stop Amorim in her tracks? Or does Amorim add another check to her undefeated record?

Next up, knockout artist “Mean Machine” Steve Garcia takes on China’s Shayilan “Wolverine” Nuerdanbieke. Garcia put himself on the radar with a dominating TKO victory over Chase Hooper in October 2022. “Mean Machine” has finished all but three of his professional victories, all by knockout.

His opponent Nuerdanbieke brings a wealth of experience to the table. “Wolverine” has had 49 professional fights, with 39 victories, ending 29 of those by KO or submission. Don’t blink during this matchup between finishers.

Ignacio Bahamondes makes his return to the UFC after visa issues put him out of action for a lengthy period. Originally slated to fight Nikolas Motta, Bahamondes faces a late-notice replacement in Trey Ogden. Bahamondes is all-action, unconventional, and huge for the weight class, standing at 6’3″; he also owns one of the very few spinning wheel kick knockouts in the UFC.

Submission ace Ogden is moving forward from his cancelled bout with Manuel Torres back in March, so despite being late notice, he’ll have had a full camp to prepare for the fight.

Headlining our early prelims is a women’s flyweight bout between Cynthia Calvillo vs. Lupita Godinez. It makes or breaks, Calvillo who rides a four-fight losing streak. Meanwhile, Godinez looks to make it 3-2 in her last five.

Kicking off the regular prelims, Karl Williams steps in as a short-notice replacement for Chris Barnett, against the savage Chase Sherman. Williams supports a wrestling-heavy fighting style with his heavy hands and deceptively good cardio. On the other hand, Sherman prefers to box his opponents and utilises slick head movement to stay out of harm’s way. Expect suplexes, slick boxing, and all-out action in this fight.

We take a few steps down in weight now, MMA veteran Gerald Meerschaert has the monumental task of halting the hype of Pennsylvania’s Joe Pyfer. This is certainly one to watch, as these fighters have a combined 42 finishes between them.

“The Karate Hottie” Michelle Waterson-Gomez looks to put her elite striking to good use against 10-1-0 Luana Pinheiro, a submission ace who is undefeated in the UFC, and coming from an impressive victory over the aforementioned Sam Hughes.

Headlining the UFC 287 prelims, the “Action Man” Chris Curtis takes on fan favourite Kelvin Gastelum. Curtis burst onto the UFC scene with back-to-back knockouts of Brendan Allen and Phil Hawes, and most recently finished Joaquin Buckley with some crisp counterpunching.

It’s another do-or-die fight for Gastelum who is 1-5 in the UFC since 2019, with three fight cancellations to boot. He brings heavy hands and inhuman durability.

It’s onto the main card. Our opening bout features the youngest prospect on the UFC roster, Raul Rosas Jr. who is 7-0 at 18 years of age. Rosas Jr. impressed with a first-round submission of Jay Perrin in his UFC debut in December 2022. His opponent on April 9 is the gritty finisher, Chris Rodriguez. Rodriguez, 25,  brings an 88% finish rate into this fight, and only one defeat to the highly touted Jonathan Pearce. Does Rosas Jr. find his ceiling in this fight? Or does he continue to impress?

Unorthodox karate striker Kevin Holland takes on the grizzled UFC veteran Santiago Ponzinibbio next. Holland returns from a five-round war against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thomson back in December 2022, in which he retired in the fifth round due to an injury. Ponzinibbio on the other hand refound his footing in the UFC by knocking out Alex Morono in December 2022, recovering from a slew of losses.

These two men are always out for the finish, and always keep it standing.

Two boxers clash now, Adrian Yanez has been making waves with his spectacular finishes of Tony Kelley and Randy Costa. He’s set to face Rob Font, who looks to recover from two back-to-back defeats at the hands of elite competition. Font is an extremely accurate boxer with other-worldly tenacity and durability, meanwhile, Yanez has shown that he has some of the best killer instincts in the division. Don’t miss it.

Onto the co-main event of the night. Gilbert Burns dominated Neil Magny to bring his name back into title contention back in January. With some of the best offensive grappling mixed with relentlessly savage striking, Burns looks to retire his adversary. Jorge Masvidal, 38, is an extremely well-rounded mixed martial artist coming off of a three-fight losing streak. “Gamebred” has been mentioning retirement if he loses this weekend, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

The featured fight of the night. A rivalry seven years in the making, Israel Adesanya looks to avenge his only defeat at middleweight, against his long-time adversary Alex Pereira. Pereira owns three victories over “Stylebender”, two in kickboxing, and one in MMA, he now looks to close the show with a fourth victory, and his first middleweight title defence.

There’s a lot at stake for Adesanya, who may be relegated to division gatekeeper with another loss to “Poatan”. Regardless of the fact, both men are the best strikers the UFC has to offer, and fans should expect fireworks.

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