The much awaited UFC 287 lived up to the expectations thanks to jaw-dropping knockouts and shocking upsets. The prestigious pay-per-view appears to have broken some important benchmarks for the top MMA company.
19,302 people filled the Miami Dade Arena for the Israel Adesanya headlining performance. With a staggering $11.9 million in live gate revenue, the pay-per-view broke the previous arena record. As of right present, the fight card ranks as the sixth-highest-earning UFC event.
The UFC 287 prize for the Fight of the Night was won by the three-round brawl between former interim middleweight championship challenger Kelvin Gastelum and No. 14-ranked challenger Chris Curtis. A $50k bonus will be added to the agreed-upon fight purse for each fighter.
Israel Adesanya, a two-time middleweight champion, and Rob Font, the No. 6-ranked bantamweight contender, both received the award for Performance of the Night.
‘The Last Stylebender’ defeated Alex Pereira in the second round at Miami Dade-Arena to reclaim his middleweight title. The Kiwi, who was born in Nigeria, defeated “Poatan” for the first time.
Similar to this, Font declared victory over Adrian Yanez by eliminating him in the first round. For Font, who entered the contest on a two-fight losing streak, the victory was a breath of fresh air.
Israel Adesanya speaks about his Muhammad Ali moment against Alex Pereira at UFC 287
At UFC 287, Israel Adesanya took no chances. The Last Stylebender delivered several punches that knocked Alex Pereira on the ground before unleashing one final hammer fist on the unconscious “Poatan” for good measure.
Adesanya revealed that he had a brief moment of reflection prior to executing the ground and pound during the post-show interview.
The Last Stylebender revealed throughout the episode why he decided not to let Pereira off so easy, in contrast to how Muhammad Ali decided to exercise restraint by refraining from punching a falling George Foreman during his knockout victory against “Big George” in their 1974 match:
“Engage, my fightware company just signed a partnership agreement with the Ali Foundation, and before this fight I wondered if I had the opportunity, should I hold back like [Muhammad] Ali did against George Foreman? The spectral punch? But I reasoned that Alex Pereria wouldn’t treat me in the same way, so I communicated that to him from above.