Main fight card:
Alex Pereira v Israel Adesanya (for Pereira’s UFC middleweight championship) - Adesanya wins via second-round KO
Gilbert Burns v Jorge Masvidal (welterweight) - Burns wins via unanimous decision
Rob Font v Adrian Yanez (bantamweight) - Font wins via first-round technical knockout
Kevin Holland v Santiago Ponzinibbio (welterweight) - Holland wins via third-round knockout
Raul Rosas Jr v Christian Rodriguez (bantamweight) - Rodriguez wins via unanimous decision
Live updates
Alex Pereira v Israel Adesanya - Middleweight championship bout - Adesanya wins via second-round knockout
Round two - Pereira with a clear strategy to attack Adesanya's lead leg, as he did in the first bout. Periera charging now, landing some heavy shots. Adesanya eats them, looks to counter. Lands a clean left of his own. Pereira snaps Adesanya's head back with a jab. Adesanya over the top with a right. Heavy inside low kick from Adesanya. Pereira pressing forward, back to the leg again. Adesanya's searing right just misses its target. Comes over the top with a right but Pereira lands inside. Pereira has him hurt but Adesanya unleashes with two massive right hands and down goes Pereira! He's out cold! Adesanya wins!
Round one - Here we go! No glove touch. This is on. 'Let's go Izzy' chants break out early. Both fighters trading a slew of calf kicks to start. Adesanya lunges with the jab. Pereira lands a pair of heavy leg kicks. One -tow Adesanya. Pereira attacks the body. Powerful body kick from Adesanya, lands crisply. The challenger looks supremely focused. Nice left hand from Adesanya. Pereira continues to beat up the calf. Razor close round, perhaps a slight edge to Adesanya.
4:47pm - Some extra juice from Mr Buffer on the 'It's Time' catchcry.
Big pop for Adesanya and some distinct boos for the Brazilian inside Miami-Dade Arena.
4:33pm - Out comes 'Poatan', stern-faced as ever. Pauses to draw his trademark bow, pointed in Adesanya's direction. The guy is just scary.
The crowd seems to be in Adesanya's corner, judging by thgose Octagon entrances.
4:30pm - Out comes Adesanya, screaming words of encouragement to himself with the collar he wore to weigh-ins strapped around his neck. Let's out one final scream as he goes into the prep zone. An inordinate amount of pre-fight adrenaline here from the challenger.
4:20pm - The moment we've all been waiting for is just around the corner. Strap up, team.
Gilbert Burns v Jorge Masvidal - Burns wins via unanimous decision
4:18pm - Jorge Masvidal takes to the mic and announces he's retiring. End of a fantastic career. Lays down the gloves in traditional ceremonial fashion, after offering some parting words of admiration for the former US president Donald Trump, who's sitting cageside.
Round three - Masvidal likely needs a finish to win this one. Masvidal going to his kicks again, throwing with variation. Burns lands a heavy one-two that clearly hurts Masvidal. Another searing right, Masvidal with his back to the fencing. Burns puts another right hand on target, then tries to clinch with a well-timed shot. To the ground they go and it's all Burns, working to the back now. Time runs out and that will be a comfortable win for Burns.
Round two - Burns pressing early. Locks up the double-leg takedown and takes Masvidal for a ride, huge slam to the mat. Burns dictating proceedings from full guard, not much damage inflicted though. Stays in control of the clinch for the majority of the round. They separate late, Masvidal stings a right hand. That will be another round for Burns.
Round one - 'Lets' go Jorge' chants break out early inside Miami-Dade Arena. tentative start by both fighters, trying to find their ranges. Masvidal going to the leg kick often and with success. Masvidal ramping up the volume. Burns finding a regular home for his right hand. Razor close round until Burns shoots and lands the takedown with 10 seconds to go. That'll be one for the Brazilian.
3:56pm - 'The Last Stylebender' looking composed and focused backstage.
3:47pm - In strolls 'Gamebred' in front of his Floridian faithful. Big pop inside Miami-Dade Arena. 'Durinho' follows sporting a modified Brazilian flag headband. Burns is a huge betting favourite today.
Rob Font v Adrian Yanez - Font wins via first-round TKO
Round one - Font establishing his jab early. Couple of clean counters from Yanez. Big right finds a home on Font's chin. Cut opens below Font's eye. Yanez's accuracy is something special. Font with the one-two and Yanez wobbles. Another heavy right hook and down goes Yanez, head snapping back. Swarms with shots from above to force the referee stoppage. What a performance after a year on the shelf.
3:27pm - Yanez puts his nine-fight win streak on the line against the veteran Font.
Kevin Holland v Santiago Ponzinibbio - Holland wins via third-round knockout.
Round three - Heavy leg kicks from Holland now. Ponzinibbio working his jab but struggling to close the distance. Holland using the teep kicks as a jab. Really intelligent fight being fought by the American. Bang! Leaping left hook and down goes Santiago! Holland pounces and the referee intervenes quickly, a little too quickly for Ponzinibbio's liking. Nothing wrong with that stoppage, though.
Round two - Holland playing an effective counter attacking game. Volume starting to increase now, Holland landing some clean shots. Another round in the bag.
Round one - Holland using his range advantage expertly early. Ponzinibbio hunting with leg kicks, landing consistently inside and outside. Both guys swinging with heat, Ponzinibbio throwing in bunches. Ponzinibbio catches a kick and holds on but cops a one-legged back fist that drops him! Pounces with a flurry but Ponzinibbio is saved by the bell. That will be Holland's round.
2:52pm - Holland has looked superb since dropping to welterweight and the Argentine Ponzinibbio has bounced back impressively from a couple of losses against Alex Morono in December. This should be an intriguing contest.
2:47pm - We're taking a moment to celebrate the war that was Robbie Lawler v Rory MacDonald II being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Raul Rosas Jr v Christian Rodriguez - Rodriguez wins via unanimous decision
2:42pm - Valuable lesson learned there for the teen Rosas Jr, who has had his hype train stalled by Rodriguez today. Really impressive, composed performance.
Round three - This round will decide the fight. Rosas looks decidedly fatigued to open the round, Rodriguez showing his experience edge by patiently biding his time and letting his hands go at the optimal time. Rosas continues to shoot but there's no sting in the shots, Rodriguez having his way here now, full mount on the back and the body lock secured. This should be a straightforward decision in Rodriguez's favour.
Round two - Rosas starts the second with another shot. Rodriguez defends and moves into top control. Back to their feet and they separate, Rodriguez lands a big knee as Rosas shoots yet again. Rodriguez reverses position, Rosas starting to fade a touch. Rodriguez cinches up a body lock from the back, working for the rear-naked choke. Role reversal from the opening round as the horn sounds. We're locked at a round apiece here.
Round one - Rosas Jr shoots for a takedown immediately. Rodriguez displays some sturdy grappling defence, but Rosas is relentless and gets his man to the mat. Rodriguez back to his feet. Rosas leaps to take the back. Rosas locks up the body triangle but Rodriguez stays composed, keeps fighting hands and survives the round.
2:18pm - The 18-year-old grappling wunderkind Rosas Jr makes his way to the Octagon. The youngest fighter in UFC history. Massive future ahead of him.
2:15pm - The challenger has entered the building. Meanwhile, Pereira has immediately gone to have his hands wrapped upon arrival.
2pm - Afternoon, fight fans! Kelvin Gastelum's breathless win over Bryan Curtis in the preliminary feature fight just set the table perfectly for the main card, which starts very shortly with phenom Raul Rosas Jr against Christian Rodriguez.
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Kia ora and welcome to Newshub's live updates of UFC 287 in Miami, where Israel Adesanya will attempt to reclaim his middleweight title in a rematch with Alex Pereira.
This will be the fourth time the two have squared off, with Pereira winning all three of their match-ups to date, two of which have taken place under the Glory Kickboxing banner.
'The Last Stylebender' appeared to be cruising to victory in their first mixed martial arts meeting in November, before the Brazilian earned a stunning late technical knockout win in the dying moments of the fifth round.
The card also features a pair of intriguing welterweight clashes, with Jorge Masvidal taking on Gilbert and Kevin Holland facing Rob Font.
'I'm the hunter now': Adesanya out to send reminder of his greatness against rival Pereira
Israel Adesanya realises the stakes are at an all-time high for his UFC middleweight title rematch against Alex Pereira at UFC 287 on Sunday (NZ time).
Adesanya has lost all three of his combat encounters against the Brazilian, two of which took place in the Glory Kickboxing promotion.
Their first date under the UFC banner saw Pereira - who was comfortably behind on the judges' scorecard - surge home to earn a technical knockout win in the final minutes of their November showdown at New York City to win the middleweight crown.
Another loss in their rematch at Miami this weekend would likely put a definitive end to their rivalry, with Adesanya comparing his situation to Eminem's in the rapper's iconic 2002 film.
"I'm down two fights in kickboxing, one fight in MMA, so I'm down three, and this is like in every movie - your one shot," Adesanya said at UFC 287 media day.
"This is my Eminem moment, my '8 Mile' moment. You get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow, this opportunity comes once in a lifetime, and this is it.
"This is it for me."
The most frustrating aspect for Adesanya will be the nature of their previous fights, where he's won most of the minutes, but failed to get his hand raised. The first was a razor-close decision many believed the Kiwi should have won, while he dominated the second, before being caught in the only knockout loss of his career.
The trend continued in their first meeting under MMA rules, when Adesanya seemed to be en route to a straightforward win, before Pereira's late salvo forced a referee stoppage.
"I know what works for me," Adesanya said. "I know how I can beat this guy.
"I know every time I fight this guy, I'm beating him, and then he has this special ability to recover and put his foot on the gas, so I have to find a way to take him out of the driver’s seat, which I will.
"He knows how dangerous I am. He knows I'm not an easy fight.
"He knows he's going to have to go through fire and I'm going to make him fight for his life in this fight, but I said say less, do more.
"We’re here, you put a mic in front of me, you expect me to talk… I really just want to fight.
"You guys want some words, I'll give you words - I'm going to make him fight for his life. That's not no trash talk, that’s no bullshit.
"I'm here to fight. I'm ready to go."
Pereira's win in November snapped 'The Last Stylebender's staggering 12-fight win streak at 185lb, closing a chapter on one of the most captivating runs in the sport's history.
Since his debut in 2018, the City Kickboxing product has established himself as one of the division's greatest ever fighters, second only to the legendary Anderson Silva.
Adesnaya feels he isn't getting the respect he deserves heading into his rematch with the 'Poatan', and he's ready to send a reminder of his elite pedigree and start a new championship chapter in his story.
"Not many people get the opportunity to show how great they are, to rise to the occasion when all the odds are stoked against them and people are counting them out," he said.
"For me, this fight, I feel like the underdog. I feel like everyone is counting me out. I feel like because of the result of the last fight, goldfish memory. They forgot what I've done in this game.
"It's time to remind people how great I am."
Such has been his dominance, Adesanya hasn't been a betting underdog in any of his 13 UFC fights, including his foray up to the light-heavyweight division in 2021 to take on then-champion Jan Blachowicz, where he lost a unanimous decision.
That will continue this weekend, when he's favoured to avenge those three defeats to Pereira, which Adesanya admits surprises him.
Either way, he's determined to make a statement against his nemesis to add another twist to what he describes as "the greatest storyline in MMA history".
"Honestly, I'm the hunter now," Adesanya said. "I've just been hunting, in every sense of the word, and I'll make sure when it's time to fight, I'll hunt him down.
"My target's straight on him, nothing else. Anything else, not even him after this, I don’t care... I’m focused on right now.
"Imagine, what if I get it done better than he's ever done it. What if I butcher him and beat the f*** out of him.
"Because I always do, but just ramp it up now and I don't let him get any breath and I take him out, I put him on his back. We'll find out.
"Like I said, I don’t keep score, I settle them - and he who laughs last, laughs best."
