Yesterday, we previewed the main event of UFC 287: Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya 2. As that fight deserved its own post to highlight the magnitude of the rematch, it is now time to preview the rest of the card as we are in store for an action-packed weekend. The card is filled with big names. Michelle Waterson-Gomez (+140) vs Luana Pinheiro (-165). Michelle is a legend in women's MMA, but she is coming off of a two-fight losing streak while Luana is an up-and-comer in the fight game and hasn't lost an MMA fight since 2017. Luana is 2-0 in the UFC and is also a Dana White Contender Series winner earning her contract after one first-round KO. This should be a fun fight as the co-main for the prelims.
Chris "The Action Man" Curtis (+105) vs Kelvin Gastelum (-125) is going to be a great way to close the prelims. Curtis is the fourteenth ranked Middleweight, while Gastelum is ranked fifteenth. Chris is coming off a victory against Joaquin Buckley at UFC 282. It was a nasty head-kick knockout. They don't call Curtis the Action Man for no reason. That kick earned Action Man a spot in the rankings. Then, at the end of February, the rankers decided to swap Gastelum and Curtis for no reason. Action Man should be fighting up in the rankings, but instead has to defend his rank. Kelvin Gastelum is on a two-fight losing streak and hasn't fought since 2021. Kelvin has been training at Fight Ready in Arizona with Henry Cejudo and Jon Jones, so maybe he can return to form. However, the disrespect Curtis and Gastelum have both received is absurd. Curtis felt this fight should be on the main card instead of Rosas vs Rodriguez considering Gastelum and himself are contenders whereas this is Raul Rosas's second fight in the UFC. He's not wrong and considering the rank swap as well, it seems like the UFC doesn't really care about some of their contenders.
Raul Rosas Jr. (-225) vs Christian Rodriguez (+190) is going to be a hell of a bout. Rosas will be a heavy crowd favorite, but Rodriguez might surprise some people. I'm surprised the UFC booked Rosas to fight someone this dangerous, this early. C-Rod has trained with Anthony Pettis, and we all know how dangerous Showtime was. C-Rod is 2-1 in the UFC and his only loss is to a guy who's competing in a higher weight class now. I'm not saying he'll win, but this fight may last longer than Raul's last fight. Rosas submitted Jay Perrin in half of a round. I see this fight entering round two. It should be a really entertaining fight. C-Rod is going to be an interesting test for the 18-year-old phenom.
Kevin Holland (-245) vs Santiago Ponzinibbio (+205) is another banger! Holland lost his last fight to Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson, but he fought really stupidly. He agreed to only fight standing up. He wanted to entertain the crowd, but a stand-up fight with Wonderboy isn't a good idea for anyone. The way to beat Stephen Thompson is by taking him down, he's an undefeated Kickboxer for crying out loud. Kevin Holland also fought kinda dumb against Khamzat in my opinion. I'm not saying he could beat Khamzat by any means, but I know he's better than the minute he gave in the octagon against Chimaev. Holland needs to fight the way he did against Tim Means and Cowboy Oliveira. He beat them by any means necessary and didn't care what the crowd thought. Guess what? Both crowds loved the action they got. There's no doubt in my mind Holland could be a ranked fighter if he either had a better coaching staff or just fought smarter. As for the Ponz, he's got power that can sneak up on you at any moment. In his last bout, Alex Morono was piecing him up and outta nowhere Ponz knocked him out. It was crazy, if Kevin Holland doesn't have a good strategy I could see the Ponz stealing this fight.
Rob Font (+155) vs Adrian Yanez (-180) is another wild matchup. Font is on a two-fight losing streak coming up short in decisions against Chito Vera and Jose Aldo. Font is still the sixth-ranked Bantamweight. Adrian Yanez is a rising star in the division, he's ranked twelfth and is on a six-fight win streak including his win in DWCS. Font has been seeming to slow down, while Yanez is on fire. The Bantamweight Division is crowded in the UFC and Adrian Yanez is looking at his toughest test to date in fighting Rob Font.
The co-main event of the evening has the potential to be a fight of the night. Gilbert Burns (-475) vs Jorge Masvidal (+380) is a Welterweight bout between the fifth and eleventh-ranked fighters respectively. Masvidal is desperate for a win, he hasn't won a fight since he beat Nate Diaz in 2019. However, Jorge believes a win can propel him to one last title shot even though Dana White has been very firm about Covington as the number-one contender. Jorge's beef with Welterweight Champ, Leon Edwards is far more compelling than Edwards vs Covington. The famous "three piece and a soda" has never been resolved inside the octagon. A win for Jorge might mean the fans finally get to see the fight we've wanted to see for years now. As for Gilbert, he hopes a win would lead him to the title as well, but there isn't much story for Burns vs Edwards at the moment. Yet, storylines don't matter, what matters is if you win or lose in the octagon, and Gilbert can stand toe-to-toe with the best of them. He is coming off of a really strong first-round submission over Neil Magny. Burns has one of the best current resumes in the Welterweight division, adding Masvidal to the win column would be huge for his legacy. This is an away fight for Burns if the crowd is a factor. Jorge is from the streets of Miami and is beloved in Miami. If the crowd can play a factor, it may be enough to inspire Jorge to dig deep to land a knockout blow to Burns, but we'll see this Saturday night!
If you're looking for a main event preview, scroll down and click the article titled "It's UFC Fight Week 287: Pereira vs Adesanya 2! Will Pereira remain dominant?"
Comments