UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya prediction, odds, picks, start time: Fight card best bets from top MMA expert

© Provided by CBS Sports

Two of the top UFC middleweight fighters meet on Saturday when former champion Israel Adesanya battles defending champ Alex Pereira at UFC 287 in Miami. Adesanya (23-2) enters the bout ranked No. 1 in the UFC middleweight rankings, and is No. 5 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings, while Pereira (7-1) is sixth. The bout is a rematch from UFC 281 on Nov. 12, 2022, when Pereira stopped Adesanya at the 2:01 mark of the fifth round by TKO to win the UFC middleweight championship and the Performance of the Night. Pereira has won seven bouts in a row, while Adesanya has won three of his last four matches.

Their rematch is the top card on the main UFC 287 fight card (10 p.m. ET) from Kaseya Center. This will be Pereira’s first title defense. Adesanya is the -135 favorite (risk $135 to win $100), while Pereira is a +115 underdog in the latest UFC 287 odds from Caesars Sportsbook. In the welterweight division, Gilbert Burns (-475) faces Jorge Masvidal (+350). Before finalizing any UFC 287 picks, make sure you check out the MMA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine expert Kyle Marley.

Marley won the first-ever “ToutMaster” UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and daily Fantasy shows. He watches every single fight for every professional MMA card and does extensive research before each event.

Over the past four years, $100 bettors who have followed Marley’s picks are up nearly $12,000. In 2022, the accomplished MMA analyst launched the UFC season by advising SportsLine members to back Calvin Kattar (+200) against Giga Chikadze (-240) in the featherweight main event. Kattar’s lopsided decision victory gave Marley’s followers another easy winner. Anyone who has followed him has seen massive returns. 

Now, with UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya in sight, Marley has studied the card from top to bottom and revealed his top picks and best bets. You can only see Marley’s MMA picks at SportsLine.

UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya preview 

Adesanya and Pereira enter the bout with a lot of familiarity. They not only met at UFC 281, but twice in kickboxing where Pereira earned wins in 2016 and 2017. Adesanya, 33, from New Zealand has been impressive, earning 15 wins by knockout and eight by decision. He debuted in 2012 and by July 2017, knocked out Melvin Guillard in the first round to win the AFC middleweight championship. On Nov. 24, 2017, he knocked out Stuart Dare to claim the vacant Hex Fight Series Middleweight Championship.

His successes continued, earning the interim UFC middleweight championship with a decision over Kelvin Gastelum in April 2019. On Oct. 6, 2019, he engineered a second-round knockout of Robert Whittaker to unify the UFC middleweight championship. Adesanya followed that up by defending his title five consecutive times, beating Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori, Whittaker and Jared Cannonier. His streak came to a halt when he was knocked out by Pereira.

Pereira, the 35-year-old Brazilian, has also been a force in professional kickboxing. It was there where he earned titles in Glory middleweight and light heavyweight, becoming the first to hold Glory championships in two weight classes at once. His domination saw him ascend to No. 1 in the rankings in both the kickboxing middleweight and light-heavyweight divisions. He began his professional UFC career in 2015.

After going 2-1 in his first three UFC bouts, Pereira focused on kickboxing. There, he compiled a record of 33-7, including a four-year span where he was unbeaten. Since 2020, however, Pereira has returned to the UFC, where he has gone 5-0, including four knockouts. See all of Marley’s picks here. 

Top UFC 287 expert picks

One of Marley’s top UFC 287 picks: He is backing Santiago Ponzinibbio (+210) to upset Kevin Holland (-260) in a battle of welterweight contenders on the main card.

Ponzinibbio had lost three of four UFC matches prior to knocking out Alex Morono in the third round of UFC 282 in December. After two gut-wrenching split decisions, the 36-year-old Argentinian turned in the Performance of the Night in the Catchweight bout with Morono. In a career which began in July 2008, Ponzinibbio has compiled a 29-6 career record. He has 16 wins by knockout, six by submission and seven by decision.

Holland, 30, is looking to turn around his recent trend which has seen him lose four of seven bouts since 2021, with one of those being a no contest. He has lost his last two matches, one by submission and one by corner stoppage on a TKO. The TKO was in his last bout against Stephen Thompson in December at UFC on ESPN: Thompson vs. Holland. In 33 matches, Holland is 23-9 with one no contest.

“This line looks too wide to me and it’s making me want to side with Ponzinibbio. Holland is the more well-rounded fighter, but his edge is going to be on the ground in this matchup. This is a very close fight on the feet though, and I don’t see Holland looking to chain wrestle to give him over a 70% betting line,” Marley told SportsLine. See who else to pick here.

How to make UFC 287 picks 

Marley has strong picks for Pereira vs. Adesanya and every other bout on the UFC 287 card. He’s also backing a fighter who “can dominate the fight on the ground,” to emerge with a big victory. Marley’s expert picks and analysis are only available at SportsLine. 

Who wins UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight at UFC 287, all from the incomparable expert who’s up nearly $12,000 on MMA in the past four years, and find out. 

UFC 287 odds, fight card

See full UFC 287 picks, predictions, best bets here.

Israel Adesanya (-135) vs. Alex Pereira (+115)

Gilbert Burns (-475) vs. Jorge Masvidal (+350)

Adrian Yanez (-190) vs. Rob Font (+160)

Kevin Holland (-260) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio (+210)

Raul Rosas (-260) vs. Christian Rodriguez (+210)

Joe Pyfer (-200) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (+170)

Luana Pinheiro (-175) vs. Michelle Waterson (+150)

Kelvin Gastelum (-125) vs. Chris Curtis (+105)

Lupita Godinez (-270) vs. Cynthia Calvillo (+220)

Karl Williams (-420) vs. Chase Sherman (+325)

Jaqualine Amorim (-270) vs. Sam Hughes (+220)

Ignacio Bahamondies (-350) vs. Trey Ogden (+275)

Shayilan Nuerdanbieke (-190) vs. Steve Garcia (+160)