Matches to Make After UFC 287
Lev PisarskyApr 09, 2023
Immediate title rematches are becoming increasingly common in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Only a few weeks after UFC 286 was headlined by Leon Edwards facing Kamaru Usman for a third time just seven months after their last meeting, UFC 287 was headlined by Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya fighting for a second time in mixed martial arts and fourth time overall less than five months after Pereira had knocked out Adesanya.
Adesanya had largely cleared out the division before losing his crown, but it appeared that Pereira may simply have had his number, having gone 2-0 against him in kickboxing, once by brutal knockout, and looking to go 2-0 against him in MMA as well. Pereira, meanwhile, might possibly lose to at least a dozen better grapplers at middleweight, but managed to work his fantastic striking and possibly the greatest left hook in MMA history against Adesanya in their last meeting, though he still spent a good portion of the fight on his back. In their rematch for the UFC middleweight title, Pereira looked strong early on, repeatedly battering Adesanya with low kicks and scoring solid punches upstairs. However, late in Round 2, with Adesanya seemingly hurt and Pereira teeing off on him in the corner, Adesanya suddenly ripped a perfect overhand right that badly hurt Pereira, then followed it up with a second one that completely turned the champion's lights out. Adesanya had regained his throne in dramatic fashion.
In the co-main, we had a battle of aging welterweight contenders, as 36 year-old Gilbert Burns met 38 year-old Jorge Masvidal. Burns has been a lot more active, fighting four times since 2021 before UFC 287, and clearly still a top fighter. After being knocked out in a championship bid against then welterweight king Usman, Burns edged out Stephen Thompson, lost a very close decision to Khamzat Chimaev, and recorded a lovely first-round submission over tough, solid Neil Magny. Masvidal, meanwhile, had fought only 3 times going back to 2020, and all were losses, two to Usman, and one against bitter rival Colby Covington. Burns was a big favorite, and while the first round was close with both men solely striking, Burns dominated the next two stanzas. He won the second round with his grappling and badly hurt Masvidal in the final frame for the easy unanimous decision.
Elsewhere, Rob Font and Adrian Yanez met in a showdown of scintillating strikers. It was an amazing, back-and-forth war for the three minutes it lasted, but Font managed to hurt Yanez badly with jaw-rattling jabs and then finished him with a gorgeous right hand behind it. Kelvin Gastelum defeated Chris Curtis via decision in a highly exciting, toe-to-toe war of attrition where both men landed bombs.
After the PPV, the following intriguing matchups suggest themselves:
This might appear odd at first, but who else is there for Adesanya to fight? The best challenger is likely Robert Whittaker, but they've already fought twice. Meanwhile, he has already dominated Jared Cannonier and Marvin Vettori. Du Plessis, currently ranked No. 6, undefeated in the UFC, and in his prime at the age of 29 appears to be the strongest candidate. He has powerful strikes, a tough chin that may be able to weather some of Adesanya's blows, excellent grappling, and one of the most dangerous top games in all of MMA. Adesanya has traditionally done well against grapplers, though he is not impervious to them, as Jan Blachowicz used takedowns to defeat the middleweight king when he tried to win the light heavyweight title. If nothing else, it's the freshest matchup available for Adesanya against a brand new opponent. Personally, I'm tired of endless, immediate rematches and trilogies. How about you? Please tell us below in the comment section.
I would normally suggest Burns face Covington, but since Covington is likely going to face Leon Edwards for the welterweight title, this confrontation makes perfect sense. Rakhmonov is a perfect 17-0 in his career, including 5-0 in the UFC, all via stoppages. Burns would be the biggest opponent he has faced, and if successful, he would likely get a title shot. Meanwhile, if Burns were successful, he would certainly warrant consideration for a title shot of his own. Given the high status of both men and Rakhmonov in particular being 28, a loss wouldn't significantly hurt either one's standing. And from the standpoint of excitement, this would be amazing. Both are skilled strikers who have certain defensive holes, so there would be some tremendous blows being landed back and forth. And this could have some excellent grappling exchanges, with Rakhmonov a highly slick, creative submission artist and Burns a Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend.
Font just scored a brilliant knockout after back-to-back losses against Jose Aldo and Marlon Vera. Yan has technically lost 4 of his last 5, though one was a dominant win over Cory Sandhagen, another was Sherdog's 2022 Robbery of the Year against Sean O'Malley, and he could easily be 2-0 against current bantamweight king Aljamain Sterling. Regardless, Yan is still ranked No. 4 and Font was No. 6 before the win over Yanez, so this would be a battle of elite contenders who could conceivably get a title shot with another victory or two. Furthermore, both are arguably the two best, most technical strikers in the entire bantamweight division, so this could be another outstanding showdown, not only a potential fight of the night, but even fight of the year.
This fight was originally booked for January until Gastelum withdrew due to injury and on short notice, Sean Strickland edged out Imavov in a close five-round affair. This would be a more interesting fight now. On the one hand, it would be exciting, as both men love to throw dynamic strikes. It would also tell us a lot about Imavov, who just turned 27 and is currently ranked #11 in the UFC, and whether he has what it takes to become an elite contender. Additionally, neither man is hurt much by a loss as their rankings should be similar.