Earlier today, Dana White announced some massive fights for UFC 287 on April 8th.
The UFC president stated that he had some massive announcements slated for this afternoon. White then took to Instagram to confirm several other matchups that had already been announced. Such as Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March.
THIS IS NOT A DRILL 🚨 @DanaWhite is going live everywhere at 5pmET/2pmPT with a special announcement! pic.twitter.com/9S6G7ut7zP
— UFC (@ufc) January 27, 2023
However, he ended the stream with a massive announcement related to UFC 287. The card will be headlined by the high-profile middleweight title rematch between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. The two last faced off at UFC 281 in November, with ‘Poatan’ picking up a knockout win to earn the gold.
Over the last few weeks, the Brazilian has been openly stating that he might not fight ‘The Last Stylebender’ next. Instead, he’s teased that he could move to light-heavyweight to face champion Jamahal Hill, or defend his title against Robert Whittaker. It seems those backup plans are no longer necessary, and he will face Adesanya again next.
However, Dana White didn’t stop there. In addition to the middleweight title rematch, Gilbert Burns will face Jorge Masvidal in the co-main event. ‘Durinho’ and ‘Gamebred’ were previously in talks to fight at UFC 283 in Brazil earlier this month, but they fell through.
As a result, the Brazilian wound up facing Neil Magny, whom he submitted in the first round. Following the event, Burns again called to face a big name next, and he will get his wish. For his part, Masvidal enters the fight on a three-fight losing streak, having suffered defeats at the hands of Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman.
Lastly, the UFC president announced that Kevin Holland would fight Santiago Ponzibbio in an important welterweight clash. ‘Trail Blazer’ is coming off a knockout loss to Stephen Thompson in December, while the latter defeated Alex Morono in December.
What do you make of these fight announcements? Sound off in the comment section below PENN Nation!
