UFC 287 bonuses announced, card sets $11.9M arena record
The highly anticipated UFC 287 has lived up to the hype with spectacular knockouts and crushing upsets. The high-profile pay-per-view seems to have set some notable records for the premier MMA promotion.
The Israel Adesanya headliner saw a sold-out Miami Dade Arena comprising 19,302 fans. The pay-per-view's live gate set the arena record, bagging a whopping $11.9 million. The fight card is now officially the sixth highest-grossing event in UFC history.
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Gate: $11,943,363.20 (6th highest grossing event in UFC history, arena record)
Attendance: 19,032 (Sold Out)
The three-round war between former interim middleweight title challenger Kelvin Gastelum and No. 14 ranked contender Chris Curtis bagged the UFC 287 bonus for the Fight of the Night. Both fighters will be taking home an extra $50k in addition to their granted fight purse.
The Performance of the Night went to two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and the No. 6 ranked bantamweight contender Rob Font.
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Fight of the Night: Curtis vs. Gastelum
Performances of the Night: Israel Adesanya and Rob Font
At Miami Dade-Arena, 'The Last Stylebender' reclaimed his middleweight throne with a devastating KO over Alex Pereira in the second round. This was the Nigerian-born Kiwi's first combat sports win over 'Poatan'.
Similarly, Font claimed a statement win over Adrian Yanez, knocking him out in the very first round. The win was a breath of fresh air for Font, who came to the event on a two-fight skid.
Israel Adesanya speaks about his Muhammad Ali moment against Alex Pereira at UFC 287
Israel Adesanya left nothing to chance at UFC 287. After flooring Alex Pereira with a series of punches, 'The Last Stylebender' let loose one more hammer fist on the downed 'Poatan' for good measure.
Speaking about the moment during the post-show, Adesanya said that he had a moment of contemplation before following through with the ground and pound.
During the segment, 'The Last Stylebender' explained why he chose not to let off Pereira so easily, unlike how Muhammad Ali decided to show restraint by not punching a falling George Foreman during his knockout win against 'Big George' in their 1974 showdown:
"Engage, my fightware brand just signed with the Ali foundation, and something in my head prior to this fight was like, if I have that moment, should I hold back like [Muhammad] Ali did against George Foreman? The phantom punch? But I was like, naah, he [Alex Pereria] wouldn't do the same to me, so I sent that from heaven."
Catch Israel Adesanya's comments below: