UFC returned to Miami after 20 long years and it won’t be wrong to say that it was worth the wait! While the hometown hero failed to deliver, it was a memorable event nonetheless as Gamebred hung up his gloves, calling retirement in front of his friends and family in Miami.
In the main event, Israel Adesanya scripted history as he finally avenged his multiple losses against Alex Pereira by knocking him out viciously to reclaim his Middleweight gold. It was an exciting main card with Rob Font picking up a spectacular stoppage win over up-and-coming prospect Adrian Yanez, Kevin Holland stopping Santiago Ponzinibbio, and Kelvin Gastelum and Chris Curtis putting on a performance of a lifetime for fight fans present in Miami and watching from around the world.
Jorge Masvidal has retired in Miami.
Happy trails @GamebredFighter 🫡t#UFC287 pic.twitter.com/Dw2ymoyCoM
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) April 9, 2023
Meanwhile, the 18-year-old Raul Rosas Jr. succumbed to his first loss, dropping a unanimous decision loss against Christian Rodriguez to kick off the main card.
UFC 287 gate and attendance break MSG records
The crowd gathered in huge numbers as UFC 287 put on an attendance of 19,032 fans inside Kaseya Centre. Surprisingly enough, UFC 287 did better numbers than UFC 281.
UFC 287 gate as revealed by President Dana White during the post-fight press conference stood at $11.9 million. The rematch between Adesanya and Pereira did better than their first encounter inside the Octagon back at UFC 281.
All hail The king of Middle weight🤴💪🤴ISRAEL ADESANYA AFrica to the world 🌎 🇳🇬
pic.twitter.com/nI1CrGKMLT— Jeff 🇺🇲🌎🇬🇭🇳🇬 (@4GOODGEOFF) April 9, 2023
UFC 281, which took place inside Madison Square Garden, brought in $11.5 million in gate revenue, slightly lesser than UFC 287. This was quite surprising considering the promotion performs best when it is in Las Vegas or New York. However, it seems like the return to Miami after 20 years actually paid off.
While the rematch between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira was bound to do good numbers, the inclusion of Jorge Masvidal in the co-main event helped push it further. Kelvin Gastelim and Chris Curtis earned the Fight of the Night honors, while Israel Adesanya took home the $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.