Six months after Alex Pereira knocked out Israel Adesanya to win the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 281, the rivals are set for a rematch. The fighters will headline a UFC 287 card that features several intriguing bouts. Here’s our best UFC 287 bets, including an Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya 2 pick. Which fighter will win the highly anticipated rematch?
The odds for the UFC 287 have been released. The odds were last updated on April 6, 2023:
| 1st Fighter |  | | 2nd Fighter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Holloway | -190 | +165 | Arnold Allen |
| Edson Barboza | +150 | -170 | Billy Quarantillo |
| Dustin Jacoby | -170 | +150 | Azamat Murzakanov |
| Ion Cutelaba | -127 | +107 | Tanner Boser |
Before checking out our UFC 287 picks, take a look at the best UFC betting sites and the UFC Vegas betting odds.
Adesanya is a slight favorite to beat Pereira and win the UFC middleweight championship. Pereira was the clear underdog when the two fighters met in the main event of UFC 281 on Nov. 12. Pereira pulled off the upset, ending Adesanya’s three-year reign as the unified UFC middleweight champion.
Why is Adesanya favored after losing to Pereira in their first title fight? Adesanya would’ve retained the 185-pound belt if he made it through the final round. Adesanya won three of the first four rounds on every judge’s scorecard. Pereira landed a bunch of clear shots to the face of Adesanya that caused the referee to stop the fight with three minutes left in the fifth round, giving the challenger a TKO victory.
Because of Pereira’s knockout power, Adesanya thought that oddsmakers would make him the underdog in Saturday’s championship fight.
“I’m surprised they actually picked me as the favorite cause I am the more polished fighter, but he’s the guy who got the tools, he’s got that nuke. Only a few fighters in history have that,” Adesanya told Mike Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show.
“[Coach] Eugene said in an interview, you’re lucky to face a Mike Tyson, you’re lucky to face a guy like David Tua, you’re lucky to face a guy like Deontay Wilder even just once in your career. You’re lucky to face a guy like Alex Pereira even once in your career. So, lucky me.”
Pereira is the only fighter to defeat Adesanya in a middleweight bout. Adesanya has a 23-2 career record in MMA, and one of those losses came in his only fight as a lightweight. Adesanya is No. 5 on the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings, putting him one spot ahead of Pereira.
The victory for Pereira was no fluke. He’s 7-1 with seven straight wins in his MMA career. Pereira has even beaten Adesanya in both of their kickboxing fights. But as long as Adesanya can avoid another knockout blow, he should finally be able to outlast Pereira and regain the title that he held for so long. Adesanya has -140 odds of winning. Pereira is a slight underdog with +111 odds. Adesanya is our pick.
In the co-main event of UFC 287, Gilbert Burns is a massive favorite against Jorge Masvidal. At 38 years old, Masvidal is on a three-fight losing streak. Having gone three and a half years without a victory, Masvidal has indicated that Saturday’s fight could be his last in UFC if he doesn’t come out on top.
“This could be the last one,” Masvidal said on “Countdown to UFC 287”. “If I lose, I’m pretty much calling it quits. But a win against Gilbert means that things are headed in the right direction. So if I roll the dice and I do everything right, I’m going for it all. For one title, or many titles.”
Masvidal is at the tail end of a terrific MMA career. He has a 35-16 record. After losing by unanimous decision and knockout against Kamaru Usman in back-to-back UFC welterweight championship fights, Masvidal lost by unanimous decision against Colby Covington at UFC 272 over a year ago. Now, Masival is trying to get back on track in his home city of Miami, where the crowd will be on his side.
Burns is only two years younger than Masvidal, though he submitted Neil Magny in the first round of their fight at UFC 283 in January. Burns has a 21-5 career record with impressive wins over Stephen Thompson and Tyron Woodley since Masvidal last won a fight.
According to the oddsmakers, Burns has -500 odds of winning. Masvidal is a +342 underdog and a long shot to pull off the upset. Masvidal’s best days are behind him, and we think that he doesn’t have enough to get the better of Burns. We’re going with Burns as our pick to win the co-main event of UFC 287 in Miami Saturday night.
Rob Font is a live underdog in Saturday’s bantamweight fight with Adrian Yanez. The 35-year-old is on a two-fight losing streak, but he’s coming off one of the most unique defeats in UFC history. Font landed 271 significant strikes against Marlon Vera on April 30 of last year. Font set a record for significant strikes landed and attempted in a unanimous decision loss.
Font is 19-6 in his career. Yanez is 16-3 and on a nine-fight winning streak. The favorite hasn’t faced the same kind of competition that Font has taken on and gone toe-to-toe with in recent years. Yanez is a -188 favorite at UFC 287. Font has +146 odds, despite being six spots higher than Yanez on the UFC bantamweight rankings. After losing an absolute war in his last fight, Font is ready to take out his frustrations on Yanez and pull off the upset. He’s our pick to win.
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