Fight Facts: UFC 287 ‘Pereira vs. Adesanya 2’

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and Octagon oddities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 7,080
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 642

The Ultimate Fighting Championship cruised to the 305 for its first show in the area in about two decades, delivering a main card that fight fans will remember for quite some time. A first for the middleweight division took place when the former king reclaimed his crown, and a beloved local favorite wrapped up his career at night’s end. UFC 287 featured an early “Knockout of the Year” candidate, a bantamweight contender reminding viewers he still has the goods and an unexpected appearance by the band Trapt.

Let’s Get This Dumb City Rollin’: The UFC returned to Miami for the first time in almost 20 years when it staged UFC 287, with its lone previous appearance in the city UFC 42 in April 2003. At that time, none of the 26 fighters on this card had made their pro debuts, while Raul Rosas Jr. was about 17 months away from being born.

To Live is to Risk It All: At UFC 281 last November, Alex Pereira conquered Israel Adesanya by fifth-round knockout. The immediate rematch saw Adesanya knock out Pereira. Two champs have not traded titles via knockout in back-to-back outings since Vitor Belfort and Randy Couture met twice in 2004.

The Second He Reveals He’s Evil, We’re Gone: Adesanya achieved a first among all middleweight champions: he won his belt back after losing it. No former UFC champ at that weight class had ever reclaimed his title, making Adesanya the first two-time champ in divisional history.

Welcome to the Club, Pal: In victory, Adesanya claimed his eighth triumph in a title fight, giving him twice as many as the fighter with the third most at 185 pounds, Chris Weidman. Both trail Anderson Silva’s 11.

Life is Effort, I’ll Stop When I Die: “The Last Stylebender” prevailed for the 13th time as a middleweight, putting him in a tie with Nate Marquardt, Thales Leites and Yushin Okami for the fifth-most in divisional history. Michael Bisping’s 16 stands above the pack.

This Guy Gets It: Adesanya picked up a “Performance of the Night” check for flattening Pereira, his eighth on the roster. He joins Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker in the shared no. 2 spot in the division. Silva earned 12 across his tenure at 185 pounds.

If I Die in a Cage, I Lose a Bet: Following Gilbert Burns’ decision win over Jorge Masvidal, “Gamebred” retired. The 52-fight veteran faced a number of top-tier foes over the years, while never managing to claim a throne during his time at Strikeforce, Bellator MMA or the UFC. Masvidal topped a number of greats in his career, including Donald Cerrone, Michael Chiesa, Yves Edwards, Joe Lauzon and Nate Diaz.

Look Who’s Purging Now: Rob Font smashed Adrian Yanez in the first round to record his sixth knockout as a UFC bantamweight. He and former foe Marlon Vera share the second-place position, while T.J. Dillashaw’s seven serve as the most at 135 pounds.

Sometimes MMA is More Art Than Science: Faceplanting Santiago Ponzinibbio with a right hook, Kevin Holland snapped a losing streak while notching his 20th career stoppage win. The finish rate of “Trailblazer” grew to 83%, with each of his last five victories coming inside the distance.

Stuffing Takedowns is about the Stuff, not the Takedowns: While Kelvin Gastelum was unable to ground Chris Curtis after three attempts, he did manage to take home the decision and “Fight of the Night” honors. Curtis still maintains his dazzling 100% takedown defense rate, having successfully defended all 35 tries across his six UFC outings.

Have Fun with Empowerment: As a member of the strawweight roster, Michelle Waterson-Gomez has now suffered six defeats, following her split decision setback against Luana Pinheiro. Her six losses at 115 pounds place her in a five-way tie for the fourth-most, while Angela Hill’s 12 is far above the rest.

Now is the Time for Action: Across her last 10 outings dating back nearly six years, Waterson-Gomez has heard the final bell in nine of those. The lone stoppage came at the hands of Amanda Lemos by guillotine choke last July.

I Always Slay It, Queen: In 3:15 of the first round, Joseph Pyfer flattened Gerald Meerschaert with punches. “Bodybagz” pushed his finish rate to 91%, and he has not gone the distance since his second pro outing back in 2018.

You Have to Think Ahead and Live in the Moment: The last five encounters for Lupita Godinez have gone the distance, win or lose, after outpointing Cynthia Calvillo by split verdict. The Mexican fighter by way of Canada has only earned two stoppages throughout her nine pro victories.

It’s a New Machine: Surviving a rough first round to come back and win by knockout, Steve Garcia belted Nuerdanbieke Shayilan with a body kick and follow-up punches to boost his knockout rate to 79%. All three wins for “Mean Machine” inside the Octagon have come via strikes within two rounds.

You’re a Genius at That: Sam Hughes outlasted Jaqueline Amorim and pushed the Brazilian into unknown territory. The first six fights for UFC newcomer Amorim had all ended by first-round stoppage, while Hughes took home the decision victory.

Wubba Lubba Dub Dub: Coming into UFC 287, Pereira (eight fights) had never been knocked out, Yanez (19 fights) had never been finished and Rosas Jr. (seven fights) and Amorim (six fights) had never been defeated.

Sometimes You Have to Not Give a [Expletive]: For the first time in recorded UFC walkout music history, a fighter picked a song from 2000s nu-metal band Trapt. Adesanya sang his way to the cage to “Headstrong,” and he pulled off the victory over his rival.

You’re Holding Me Verbally Hostage: Both Calvillo and Trey Ogden selected songs from J. Cole for their entrances. Calvillo went with “Middle Child” while Ogden picked “Fire Squad.” Both lost decisions.