The Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title will be on the line in the UFC 287 main event.
Pereira (7-1) has been perfect inside the Octagon, and dispatched his former kickboxing rival in their first mixed martial arts meeting. It wasn't easy, though, as it took a late TKO rally for "Poatan" to claim the belt. The Brazilian will look to dispel any notions of the victory being a fluke in the rematch. Pereira stepped on the scale at 185 pounds on the dot.
The impressive middleweight title reign of "The Last Stylebender" came to an end in his prior outing as he was finished by a barrage of punches in the fifth round. The loss snapped a three-fight win streak for Adesanya (23-2), whose only other MMA defeat came in a light heavyweight championship match against Jan Blachowicz. Adesanya looked sharp on the scale, and came in at 184.5 pounds for his shot at redemption.
The UFC 287 main card will air on ESPN+ pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Saturday. Prelims begin at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass before transitioning to ESPN and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
UFC 287 Weigh-in Results:
Alex Pereira (185) vs. Israel Adesanya (184.5)Gilbert Burns (170) vs. Jorge Masvidal (171)
Rob Font (135) vs. Adrian Yanez (135.5)
Kevin Holland (170.5) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio (171)
Christian Rodriguez (137)* vs. Raul Rosas Jr. (135)
Kelvin Gastelum (185) vs. Chris Curtis (186)
Luana Pinheiro (115.5) vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez (116)
Chase Sherman (249.5) vs. Karl Williams (241)
Gerald Meerschaert (185.5) vs. Joseph Pyfer (185.5)
Cynthia Calvillo (116) vs. Lupita Godinez (115.5)
Ignacio Bahamondes (159.5) vs. Trey Ogden (159.5)
Steve Garcia (145.5) vs. Nuerdanbieke Shayilan (146)
Jaqueline Amorim (115.5) vs. Sam Hughes (116)
* Rodriguez missed weight by one pound and has been fined 20% of his purse.