This afternoon, UFC president Dana White announced a number of big time fights that are going down in the first half of 2023. He announced that Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya will have their rematch in April to headline UFC 287 which goes down in Miami, Florida.
In addition to announcing that fight, he announced the co-main event for that card. White revealed that the UFC’s BMF Jorge Masvidal (35-16) will be returning against former title challenger Gilbert Burns (21-5).
This is a fight that both men have desperately wanted for some time. There’s been a lot of trash talk between the two. Originally, the UFC was looking at potentially having this fight take place near the end of 2022. However, Masvidal couldn’t make that date work.
UFC 287
Ultimately, the promotion pivoted to having Durinho fight at UFC 283 against Neil Magny. Burns ran through Magny and submitted him in the first round. Masvidal has made it clear that he wants to get back to the title and this is a direct path to a potential future title shot.
Masvidal is coming off a three-fight losing streak. He lost a lopsided decision to Kamaru Usman before getting knocked out in their rematch. Then, he had a grudge match with Colby Covington last March and once against lost a lopsided decision.
He’s going to look to snap this losing streak against one of the most dangerous contenders in the division. Gilbert Burns’ win over Neil Magny was impressive and it was a nice way to bounce back after his loss to Khamzat Chimaev. This is a tremendous co-main event for UFC 287.