UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya prediction, odds, picks, start time: Fight card best bets by proven MMA expert

In a rematch of their hard-fought battle at UFC 281, Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya will face off once again for the UFC Middleweight Championship when they meet on Saturday at UFC 287 at Kaseya Center in Miami. Pereira stopped Adesanya at 2:01 of the fifth round by TKO last November in New York. He had won and successfully defended his middleweight crown six times prior to the loss, just his second as a professional. He lost his light heavyweight debut in March 2021, losing by unanimous decision to Jan Blachowicz. Since losing his middleweight debut in October 2015, Pereira has won all seven of his UFC matches since, but is also 33-7 competing in kickboxing. The main UFC 287 fight card begins at 10 p.m. ET.

Adesanya is a -135 favorite (risk $135 to win $100), while Pereira comes back at +115 in the latest for UFC 287: Adesanya vs. Pereira 2 odds from Caesars Sportsbook. The co-main event features a welterweight matchup between Gilbert Burns (-475) and Jorge Masvidal (+350). Before finalizing any UFC 287 picks, make sure you .

Marley won the first-ever "ToutMaster" UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and daily Fantasy shows. He watches every single fight for every professional MMA card and does extensive research before each event.

Over the past four years, $100 bettors who have followed Marley's picks are up nearly $12,000. In 2022, the accomplished MMA analyst launched the UFC season by advising SportsLine members to back Calvin Kattar (+200) against Giga Chikadze (-240) in the featherweight main event. Kattar's lopsided decision victory gave Marley's followers another easy winner. Anyone who has followed him has seen massive returns. 

Now, with UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya in sight, Marley has studied the card from top to bottom and revealed his top picks and best bets. You can only see Marley's MMA picks at SportsLine.

UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya preview 

Adesanya is very familiar with Pereira, not only having faced him the last time out in UFC, but also losing twice to him in kickboxing in 2016 and 2017. The 33-year-old from New Zealand, has compiled an impressive 23-2 record in UFC, winning 15 matches by knockout and eight by decision. After debuting in 2012, he won the AFC Middleweight Championship with a first-round knockout of Melvin Guillard in July 2017. Four months later, he followed that up with a knockout of Stuart Dare to win the vacant Hex Fight Series Middleweight Championship.

In April 2019, Adesanya earned the UFC Middleweight Championship with a decision win over Kelvin Gastelum. He then won and unified the UFC Middleweight Championship in October 2019 by knocking out Robert Whittaker in the second round of UFC 243. Adesanya defended his title with wins over Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori, Whittaker and Jared Cannonier. Pereira then put an end to his streak.

Pereira, 35, from Brazil, has not only had success in UFC, but also in kickboxing, where he is the former Glory middleweight and light heavyweight champion. He was the first and only fighter to hold Glory titles in two weight classes at the same time. His success in kickboxing allowed him to rise to No. 1 in the rankings in both the kickboxing middleweight and light-heavyweight divisions. As of March 21, he is ranked sixth in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.

Pereira started his UFC career going 2-1 from 2015 to May 2016, before turning his attention full-time to kickboxing. As a kickboxer he went four years without a loss from 2017 to 2021. Since refocusing on UFC in November 2020, he is 5-0 with four knockouts and one unanimous decision. Prior to stopping Adesanya, he earned a first-round knockout against Sean Strickland at UFC 276 in July 2022. See all of Marley's picks here. 

Top UFC 287 expert picks

One of Marley's top UFC 287 picks: He is backing Santiago Ponzinibbio (+210) to upset Kevin Holland (-260) in a battle of welterweight contenders on the main card.

Ponzinibbio had lost three of four UFC matches prior to knocking out Alex Morono in the third round of UFC 282 in December. After two gut-wrenching split decisions, the 36-year-old Argentinian turned in the Performance of the Night in the Catchweight bout with Morono. In a career which began in July 2008, Ponzinibbio has compiled a 29-6 career record. He has 16 wins by knockout, six by submission and seven by decision.

Holland, 30, is looking to turn around his recent trend which has seen him lose four of seven bouts since 2021, with one of those being a no contest. He has lost his last two matches, one by submission and one by corner stoppage on a TKO. The TKO was in his last bout against Stephen Thompson in December at UFC on ESPN: Thompson vs. Holland. In 33 matches, Holland is 23-9 with one no contest.

"This line looks too wide to me and it's making me want to side with Ponzinibbio. Holland is the more well-rounded fighter, but his edge is going to be on the ground in this matchup. This is a very close fight on the feet though, and I don't see Holland looking to chain wrestle to give him over a 70% betting line," Marley told SportsLine. See who else to pick here.

How to make UFC 287 picks 

Marley has strong picks for Pereira vs. Adesanya and every other bout on the UFC 287 card. He's also backing a fighter who "can dominate the fight on the ground," to emerge with a big victory. Marley's expert picks and analysis are only available at SportsLine. 

UFC 287 odds, fight card

Israel Adesanya (-135) vs. Alex Pereira (+115)Gilbert Burns (-475) vs. Jorge Masvidal (+350)Adrian Yanez (-190) vs. Rob Font (+160)Kevin Holland (-260) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio (+210)Raul Rosas (-260) vs. Christian Rodriguez (+210)Joe Pyfer (-200) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (+170)Luana Pinheiro (-175) vs. Michelle Waterson (+150)Kelvin Gastelum (-125) vs. Chris Curtis (+105)Lupita Godinez (-270) vs. Cynthia Calvillo (+220)Karl Williams (-420) vs. Chase Sherman (+325)Jaqualine Amorim (-270) vs. Sam Hughes (+220)Ignacio Bahamondies (-350) vs. Trey Ogden (+275)

Shayilan Nuerdanbieke (-190) vs. Steve Garcia (+160)