UFC 287 to take place at Miami-Dade Arena on April 8

Miami-Dade Arena, home of the NBA’s Miami Heat, will host UFC 287 on April 8, UFC president Dana White said in a video post on social media.

NOW THIS is how you start a Saturday!! @DanaWhite confirms @TheNotoriousMMA vs @MikeChandlerMMA for #TUF31 AND that #UFC287 is headed to Miami! ☀️ pic.twitter.com/TByEq2D2bJ

— UFC (@ufc) February 4, 2023

“I’m always talking about big destination (events), and we are going back to Miami at the Miami-Dade Arena. Miami, we are back,” White announced.

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The promotion has not been to Miami since UFC 42 in April 2003. In that main event, UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes defended his welterweight title against Sean Sherk.

Although UFC 287 is a return to downtown Miami for the first time since 2003, the promotion has been in the area six other times since then with four visits to Hollywood, Fla., about 20 miles from Miami-Dade Arena and a pair of shows in Sunrise, Fla., about 30 minutes from central Maimi, most recently in 2019.

UFC 287 will be headlined by a middleweight title rematch between champion Alex Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) and former champ Israel Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC).

Pereira beat Adesanya to win the title in New York this past November. He also holds two wins over him in kickboxing.