UFC 287 Results: Israel Adesanya, Gilbert Burns Wins Headline Main Event Card

UFC 287 Results: Israel Adesanya, Gilbert Burns Wins Headline Main Event Card

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Israel Adesanya took out three fights worth of frustration on Alex Pereira with two right hands to earn a second-round TKO victory in the main event at UFC 287 on Saturday.

After losing two kickboxing matches and a UFC fight against Pereira, Adesanya finally got the upper hand. Pereira had Adesanya up against the cage and was throwing a barrage of strikes when The Last Stylebender reared back and landed a massive right hand floored by another right hand that ended the fight.

It was a picturesque knockout and a pinnacle moment in a storied career for Adesanya.

Pereira handed Adesanya his first loss in the middleweight division at UFC 281. He took home the belt and cast serious doubt that Adesanya could overcome his rivalry with Poatan.

He answered those questions emphatically with the knockout victory.

It was a legendary ending to an exciting night of fights that included Jorge Masvidal’s last bout, a stunning upset to open up the main card and the return of Kevin Holland.

UFC 287 Results

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Kevin Holland soundly defeated Santiago Ponzinibbio on the main card.Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Israel Adesanya def. Alex Pereira via second-round KO (4:21)

Gilbert Burns def. Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)

Rob Font def. Adrian Yanez via first-round TKO (2:57)

Kevin Holland def. Santiago Ponzinibbio via third-round KO (3:16)

Christian Rodriguez def. Raul Rosas Jr. via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Prelims

Kelvin Gastelum def. Chris Curtis via unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)

Luana Pinheiro def. Michelle Waterson-Gomez via split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)

Joe Pyfer def. Gerald Meerschaert via first-round TKO (3:15)

Lupita Godinez def. Cynthia Calvillo via split decision (29-28, 30-27, 28-29)

Ignacio Bahamondes def. Trey Ogden via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)

Steve Garcia def. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke via second-round KO (0:36)

Sam Hughes def. Jaqueline Amorim via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Gilbert Burns def. Jorge Masvidal

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Jorge Masvidal was denied his homecoming moment as a victor in front of the Miami crowd. Gilbert Burns scored a comprehensive unanimous-decision win over Gamebred in a potential retirement fight for Masvidal.

The first round was close, and one judge even scored it for the Masvidal. But Burns earned a takedown at the end of the round and was able to land some ground-and-pound. That became the blueprint for the rest of the fight.

Burns went right to work with a takedown early in the second round. That was the beginning of the end for Masvidal.

From that point on, it was all Burns. After wrestling him in the second round, he landed hard shots with regularity in the third round.

After the bout, Masvidal confirmed that he intends to retire.

Retirements don’t always stick in combat sports, but if Gamebred truly is done, he leaves the sport as one of the most entertaining and exciting fighters of his era.

Meanwhile, Burns continues to stay in the welterweight title picture.

Rob Font def. Adrian Yanez

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A fight against Rob Font was supposed to be a setup for Adrian Yanez to continue showing his stuff and work his way up the rankings.

Apparently, nobody told Font that was his role.

The 35-year-old looked as good as ever in putting away Yanez in just under three minutes in the first round. His boxing was crisp, and he eventually connected with a beautiful right hook that put Yanez on the mat and ended his night early.

Font had lost two fights in a row against José Aldo and Marlon “Chito” Vera. As it turns out, those losses haven’t kept him from continuing to fight with confidence.

For Yanez, this is a significant setback and one that he will need to learn from. He had a nine-fight win streak going and had yet to taste defeat in the UFC.

Now it’s back to the drawing board before fighting someone of Font’s caliber again.

Kevin Holland def. Santiago Ponzinibbio

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Kevin Holland is back. After losing back-to-back fights he battered Santiago Ponzinibbio for the better part of three rounds before landing a vicious left hook that brought the fight to an end.

Ponzinibbio faceplanted when the hook landed but protested the finish.

Regardless, Holland was consistently the quicker and cleaner striker as the two mostly kickboxed. The 30-year-old Californian looked as confident as ever despite the recent struggles.

Unfortunately for Ponzinibbio, this was just the latest of several lackluster performances. Since returning from a near three-year layoff in 2021, he is just 2-4 in his last six fights.

Injuries and aging seem to have cut off what was an interesting run. The 36-year-old was on a seven-fight win streak before the gap in his resume. Now it appears the division has passed him by.

Holland still has time to put together a run after losses to Stephen Thompson and Khamzat Chimaev in his previous two fights.

Christian Rodriguez def. Raul Rosas Jr.

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Raul Rosas Jr.’s bout with Christian Rodriguez was a case of too much too soon for the 18-year-old prospect.

Rosas became the youngest fighter to win in the UFC in his debut in December. Against Rodriguez, he looked like a fighter who had been given too big of a challenge too early in his career.

The young prospect had some moments early in the fight. He took down Rodriguez in the first round and controlled much of the first five minutes, including some good submission attempts.

But when he wasn’t able to lock anything in and the fight went to the second round it was all Rodriguez.

The 25-year-old is a good prospect in his own right and proved it to fans. He moves to 9-1, with his only loss coming against Jonathan Pearce in his UFC debut. Pearce is now on a five-fight win streak.

This is far from the end of the road for Rosas. He has plenty of time to learn from the loss and work to get better. But Rodriguez shouldn’t be discounted because he absolutely bullied a talented grappler in Rosas.