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Stay up to date with what’s happening today with the UFC 287 PPV main card, which is going down from the Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Florida.
This post will cover the first-three matchups on the Pay-Per-View main card.
The PPV portion of the event will be opening up in the bantamweight division when the 18-year-old Raul Rosas Jr. makes his sophomore appearance against the 25-year-old Christian Rodriguez. After that, we are moving up to the welterweight division where Kevin Holland and Santiago Ponzinibbio will likely stand and bang for however long their fight lasts. Finally we bounce back down to the bantamweight division for an almost guaranteed banger between Rob Font and Adrian Yanez.
The UFC 287 early prelims begin at 6:30pm ET/3:30pm, PT, immediately followed by the regular preliminary card. Both broadcasts can be streamed on ESPN+. The PPV main card is slated for 10:00pm ET/7:00pm PT, and can be purchased on ESPN+.
UFC 287 Main Card:
- Rob Font def. Adrian Yanez by TKO at 2:57 of round 1: Bantamweight
The right hand of Font was landing early here, but Yanez went right back at him with some hard rights of his own. The jab of Font started to joust back the head of Yanez, but Adrian was still firing back. A big uppercut in the clinch scored for Font that surprised Yanez. He pursued Yanez with some more heavy rights, until the widest hook you’ll ever see landed flush and sent the dazed Adrian flying to his back. Some nasty ground and pounded landed before the referee stepped in and halted the contest. What a win for Font!
- Kevin Holland def. Santiago Ponzinibbio by KO at 3:16 of round 3: Welterweight
Holland was fighting off of his back foot to get this one started. He was countering Ponzinibbio with a variety of strikes that he was throwing from both stances. Ponzinibbio was getting through with his leg kicks, but was struggling to get close enough to land his hands. It wasn’t until the end of the round that Ponzinibbio was finally able to get through with his boxing. Just before the bell, Ponzinibbio caught a kick, but Holland dropped him with a backfist of doom.
The jab was a primary weapon for Holland early in the second, while Ponzinibbio was still attacking with his leg kicks. The volume was on the side of Holland, but it felt like Ponzinibbio was landing the harder strikes. With about a minute to go in the round, Holland stung Ponzinibbio with a clean combo.
Ponzinibbio stayed with his leg kicks in the final round, and the lead leg of Holland was getting chewed up. The urgency was also there for Ponzinibbio, but little did he know the end was near. Holland delivered a wicked leaping left hook that caused Ponzinibbio to face plant. One followup strike landed for Holland before the referee could step in and stop the match. EEK!
- Christian Rodriguez def. Raul Rosas Jr. by unanimous decision (29-28 x3): Bantamweight
Rosas Jr. closed the distance right away to work tremendously hard for a takedown, and after a lengthy struggle he finally got it. Rodriguez was doing a good job of moving and preventing Rosas Jr. from slicing through his guard. Rosas Jr. then jumped on the back while standing, and worked for an RNC as Rodriguez dropped down to the ground. That’s where the round came to a close.
Rosas Jr. went right to the takedown to open the second stanza, but Rodriguez was ready for it and took top position. Rodriguez was unable to keep the position, and it wasn’t long before Rosas Jr. clinched up on the back of Rodriguez. The scrambles continued and Rodriguez was able to lock down top position. He worked to the back of Rosas Jr. and had his turn dominating to finish up the round.
The final round saw Rosas Jr. fail to get the takedown. He was shooting from really far out, allowing Rodriguez ample time to properly defend. Rodriguez got on top, took the back, and started to drop blow after blow. Rodriguez allowed Rosas Jr. to stand for the final 10-seconds, but nothing of note really happened.
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