MMASucka staff picks are ready to go as gold awaits in tonight’s headlining rematch.
UFC 287 will take place in just a few hours today, April 8th from the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. The Magic City venue returns for only the second time in promotional history nearly 20 years after UFC 42 took place where Matt Hughes defended his UFC welterweight title for a fourth time against then-undefeated Sean Sherk. Tonight’s fight card will begin at 6:00pm ET (3:00pm PT) with four early preliminary bouts on UFC Fight Pass. Regular preliminaries kick off at 8:00pm ET (5:00pm PT) on both ESPN and ESPN+ followed by the pay-per-view portion at 10:00pm ET (7:00pm PT) available for purchase through ESPN+.
Live results from UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya 2 are available here at MMASucka.
Also, be sure to recap our staff picks and predictions from Friday night’s PFL 2 2023 event from Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Fights
Bad blood meets once again as Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya will battle for the UFC’s middleweight championship. Pereira took the divisional belt away from Adesanya in November of last year with a comeback knockout in the fifth and final round. It marked the Brazilian’s third time beating Adesanya in combat sports with two kickboxing victories in April of 2016 by unanimous decision and March of 2017 by knockout. Adesanya looks to retrieve back the 185-pound belt he had held for five defenses across over three and-a-half years.
Fan-favorites will clash in the featured co-main event at welterweight between Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal. Former title challenger Burns returns for a second time in 2023 following his first-round, arm-triangle choke over Neil Magny in January. Miami native and two-time championship contender Masvidal hopes to snap a three-fight skid after two meetings with Kamaru Usman and teammate-turned-enemy Colby Covington.
Three additional fights compose the main card ahead. New England Cartel’s Rob Font looks for his first win since May of 2021 as he battles the nine-fight win streak of 2020 Contender Series contract winner Adrian Yanez in the bantamweight division. Strikers looking for momentum at welterweight come head-to-head between Kevin Holland and Santiago Ponzinibbio. Opening the pay-per-view sees the promotion’s youngest star, 18-year-old Raul Rosas Jr., set to clash with 25-year-old Roufusport talent Christian Rodriguez at a catchweight of 137 pounds (Rodriguez missed the bantamweight mark by one pound).
Check out further below who the MMASucka staff are picking to win at UFC 287.
The rivalry continues TOMORROW 🔥@AlexPereiraUFC and @Stylebender meet again for the middleweight title at #UFC287!
[ Live on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/UU0nUgry8C ] pic.twitter.com/Ftz7soInfa
— UFC (@ufc) April 7, 2023
2023 Staff Picks
MMASucka staff picks are composed of five promotions: the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA, ONE Championship, the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS). UFC and Bellator events feature picks from only main cards. PFL will feature select fights from the main and preliminary card while DWCS sees all fights counted from the event. ONE Championship returns to picks for the first time since 2020 and will feature only mixed martial arts (MMA) fights selected from cards with a minimum three matchups.
The WINNER of staff picks at the end of 2023, who picked the most victorious fighters, will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a chain from Championship Chains. Staff picks in 2022 was won by Wesley Riddle with a record of 264-135.
Who is selected to win at UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya 2? Find out below.
Staff Records after PFL 1 2023:
1. Ben Jamieson: 54-28
2T. Frazer Krohn: 53-29
2T. Nate Freeman: 53-29
4. Tim Wheaton: 51-31
5T. Jeremy Brand: 50-32
5T. Michael DeSantis: 50-32
7. Wesley Riddle: 49-33
8T. Julio Monteros Jr.: 46-28
8T. Jack Goodwillie: 46-28
10T. Brian Knight: 42-30
10T. Roemello Reyes: 42-24
12. Andrew Benjamin: 39-38
13. Brandon Joint: 12-9
14. Andrew Harbaugh: 10-7
15. Joshua Yule: 7-6
16. Jonathan Andrade: 4-6
*Note – not all staff pick for every event*
*Note – PFL 2 2023 picks will be added to the above records NEXT weekend*
Raul Rosas Jr. (7-0), -240
vs.
Christian Rodriguez (8-1), +200
Catchweight Fight
– 137 LBS. ~ 62.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Rosas Jr. via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Rosas Jr. via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Rosas Jr. via Round 2 SUB
Andrew Benjamin: Rosas Jr. via Round 1 SUB
Frazer Krohn: Rosas Jr. via Round 1 SUB
Nate Freeman: Rodriguez via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Rosas Jr. via Round 2 SUB
Julio Monteros Jr.: Rosas Jr. via Round 1 SUB
Jack Goodwillie: Rosas Jr. via Unanimous Decision
Roemello Reyes: Rodriguez via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Rosas Jr. via Round 1 SUB
Jonathan Andrade: Rodriguez via Round 2 SUB
Staff picking Rosas Jr.: 9
Staff picking Rodriguez: 3
Kevin Holland (23-9), -240
vs.
Santiago Ponzinibbio (30-6), +200
Welterweight Division
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Holland via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Holland via Unanimous Decision
Michael DeSantis: Holland via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Holland via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Holland via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Holland via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Holland via Round 3 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Holland via Unanimous Decision
Jack Goodwillie: Holland via Round 2 TKO
Roemello Reyes: Holland via Round 3 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Holland via Round 2 SUB
Jonathan Andrade: Holland via Round 3 SUB
Staff picking Holland: 12
Staff picking Ponzinibbio: 0
Rob Font (19-6), +155
vs.
Adrian Yanez (16-3), -180
Bantamweight Division
– 135 LBS. ~ 61.2 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Font via Round 2 TKO
Wesley Riddle: Font via Split Decision
Michael DeSantis: Yanez via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Yanez via Split Decision
Frazer Krohn: Yanez via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Yanez via Split Decision
Tim Wheaton: Font via Round 1 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Yanez via Round 2 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Font via Unanimous Decision
Roemello Reyes: Font via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Yanez via Unanimous Decision
Jonathan Andrade: Font via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Font: 6
Staff picking Yanez: 6
Gilbert Burns (21-5), -435
vs.
Jorge Masvidal (35-16), +350
Welterweight Division
– Co-Main Event –
– 170 LBS. ~ 77.1 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Burns via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Burns via Round 2 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Burns via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Burns via Round 2 SUB
Frazer Krohn: Burns via Unanimous Decision
Nate Freeman: Burns via Unanimous Decision
Tim Wheaton: Burns via Round 1 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Masvidal via Round 2 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Burns via Round 1 SUB
Roemello Reyes: Masvidal via Round 2 TKO
Ben Jamieson: Burns via Round 1 TKO
Jonathan Andrade: Burns via Round 3 TKO
Staff picking Burns: 10
Staff picking Masvidal: 2
Alex Pereira (7-1), +120
vs.
Israel Adesanya (23-2), -140
Middleweight Divisional Championship
– Main Event –
– 185 LBS. ~ 83.9 KG. –
Jeremy Brand: Adesanya via Unanimous Decision
Wesley Riddle: Pereira via Round 3 TKO
Michael DeSantis: Adesanya via Unanimous Decision
Andrew Benjamin: Pereira via Unanimous Decision
Frazer Krohn: Adesanya via Split Decision
Nate Freeman: Pereira via Round 4 TKO
Tim Wheaton: Pereira via Round 3 TKO
Julio Monteros Jr.: Pereira via Round 4 TKO
Jack Goodwillie: Pereira via Round 3 TKO
Roemello Reyes: Adesanya via Unanimous Decision
Ben Jamieson: Adesanya via Round 2 TKO
Jonathan Andrade: Adesanya via Unanimous Decision
Staff picking Pereira: 6
Staff picking Adesanya: 6
