Heading into UFC 287 in Miami, Florida, it was entirely fair to assume that Alex Pereira simply had Israel Adesanya's number. The Brazilian had beaten the Nigerian-New Zealander twice under kickboxing rules and once in the UFC, taking the middleweight title with a fifth-round TKO last November.

In the main event, however, Adesanya finally conquered his three-time foil, reclaiming the middleweight belt from the stone-fisted Brazilian with a highlight-reel knockout in the second round.

It was as dramatic a moment as you'll encounter in combat sports but far from the only talking point to emerge from the Saturday night card in the Sunshine State.

In the co-main event, Gilbert Burns reasserted himself as a top welterweight contender with a lopsided unanimous-decision defeat of popular veteran Jorge Masvidal, who announced his retirement after the fact.

Earlier on the main card, long-time bantamweight contender Rob Font turned back the clock with a sizzling first-round knockout of the streaking Adrian Yanez, and Kevin Holland shut the lights out on welterweight veteran Santiago Ponzinibbio with a third-round punch.

The undercard also featured some impressive performances, most notably from former Ultimate Fighter Kelvin Gastelum, who corrected a two-fight skid with a unanimous decision win over Chris Curtis in a Fight of the Night-winning scrap.

Keep scrolling for the fights we're hoping to see when the dust has settled.

Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis

Israel Adesanya has options after reclaiming the middleweight title from Alex Pereira at UFC 287, but none of them seem quite perfect.

The most obvious is another fight with Pereira.

They have entertained every time they've shared a ring or cage, and few people would object to seeing them fight again. It's also an opportunity Pereira deserves, having thrice beaten Adesanya in combat sports and given The Last Stylebender plenty of opportunities for redemption.

Yet the Brazilian knockout artist may move up to the light heavyweight division, where his weight cut will be less intense, so his rivalry with Adesanya may finally be over—at least at middleweight.

Adesanya could also take on another contender like Robert Whittaker or Marvin Vettori, both of whom are riding solid victories, but he has beaten both men twice before, so neither match-up will be a particularly easy sell for the UFC.

The best option available is probably a fight with South Africa's Dricus Du Plessis.

As the UFC's No. 6 middleweight contender, Du Plessis isn't ranked quite as high as your typical title challenger, but he is a fresh opponent for Adesanya. And after winning his first five UFC fights—including wins over Derek Brunson and Darren Till—he could be given the opportunity without too much protest from fans.

As we covered, it's not the perfect fight, but Du Plessis is a dangerous and well-rounded finisher and would likely give the champ a good fight, even if he's unlikely to win it.

Alex Pereira vs. Jan Błachowicz

As we covered above, Alex Pereira is most likely headed up to the light heavyweight division after his UFC 287 loss to Israel Adesanya, having seemingly grown tired of the arduous cut down to middleweight.

Pereira's got options aplenty at light heavyweight. As a former middleweight champion, he could even walk right into a title fight with reigning light heavyweight king Jamahal Hill, who claimed the vacant throne with a decision defeat of the Brazilian's coach and mentor, Glover Teixeira, earlier this year.

Yet there are other contenders awaiting their cracks at Hill—namely Jiří Procházka and Magomed Ankalaev—so it probably makes sense to book Pereira against another light heavyweight in the meantime.

Our pick is a fight with former champ Jan Błachowicz.

Błachowicz defended the light heavyweight title with a decision win over Adesanya in 2021 and offered the Nigerian a shot at redemption after UFC 287, this time with the middleweight belt on the line. That's a cool idea in theory, but it's neither easy nor appealing to imagine the 40-year-old light heavyweight making the brutal cut down to 185 pounds at this stage of his career.

We suggest he stays at light heavyweight for a fight with Pereira.

The fight would give Błachowicz an opportunity for redemption, as he lost the title to Pereira's coach Teixeira in 2021. It also looks like a great fight on paper. Who doesn't want to see how Pereira's destructive striking holds up against Błachowicz's "Legendary Polish Power?"

Gilbert Burns vs. Belal Muhammad

After sending Jorge Masvidal into retirement with a unanimous-decision loss at UFC 287, Gilbert Burns is now on a two-fight win streak and firmly back in the mix for a welterweight title shot.

Of course, we know the next crack at champion Leon Edwards will most likely go to former interim champ Colby Covington. That means Burns will most likely have to fight another contender in the meantime, and the options seem to boil down to No. 4 contender Belal Muhammad or No. 6 contender Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Both fights are interesting, but our pick is the Muhammad matchup.

The Chicagoan has won eight of his last nine fights (with a no-contest in between) and undeniably deserves a title shot himself but will seemingly be left out in the cold while Covington gets the opportunity.

He could be matched up with Rakhmonov, but a fight with Burns, who is more accomplished and a bigger name, is probably the more appealing consolation prize for him.

The fight would make a great addition to any upcoming pay-per-view or an awesome Fight Night main event, and a victory would be pretty much undeniable for a crack at the Edwards vs. Covington winner.

Rob Font vs. Petr Yan

Rob Font scored one of the best wins of his career at UFC 287, picking up a first-round knockout over surging finisher Adrian Yanez—a man most onlookers believed he would lose to.

The win separated Font from a pair of decision losses to José Aldo and Marlon "Chito" Vera and reaffirmed him as one of the division's best boxers. It also kept his dreams of contending for the bantamweight belt alive—though he will need a few more wins before that happens.

Our pick for his next opponent is former champion Petr Yan.

Yan, while clearly one of the division's best fighters, is riding three-straight decision losses to Aljamain Sterling, Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili and is probably due for a slightly lower-ranked foe like Font.

The real appeal of this fight, though, is that Font and Yan are two of the best boxers at bantamweight—a division that is full of great boxers.

This one has fireworks written all over it, and it would be very meaningful for the bantamweight pecking order.

Kevin Holland vs. Neil Magny

Kevin Holland scored yet another highlight-reel knockout at UFC 287, this time at the expense of veteran striker Santiago Ponzinibbio.

After the fight, Holland called for a scrap with Jorge Masvidal, who lost to Gilbert Burns in the co-main event. That was a great call-out—they are two of the biggest stars at welterweight and have a growing feud after a pair of fight week run-ins—but Masvidal wound up retiring after his loss, so that one's off the table.

The next best thing for Holland seems to be a fight with Brazil's Michel Pereira—one of the few strikers in MMA who can match him in terms of pure spectacle. But Pereira was recently matched up with Holland's latest foil, Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson, which is a great fight in its own right.

With that fight off the table, our pick for Holland is a clash with veteran contender Neil Magny—the winningest fighter in UFC welterweight history.

Magny isn't an action fighter like Masvidal or Pereira, but with a well-rounded skillset and plenty of experience, he'd be a great test for Holland. He is also the division's No. 12 contender, meaning the rewards of victory for an unranked Holland would be huge.

Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nassourdine Imavov

Few fighters on the UFC 287 bill need a win more than former interim middleweight title challenger Kelvin Gastelum, who entered his undercard bout with Chris Curtis with just one win in his last six fights.

After three thrilling rounds of action, Gastelum got the win he sought—and a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus to go along with it.

The win over the No. 14-ranked Curtis will not push Gastelum back into title contention, but it should give him a nice boost from his position at No. 15.

As far as opponents for his next fight, he's got options, but our pick is a clash with French-Russian contender Nassourdine Imavov.

Gastelum and Imavov, who is ranked No. 11 in the division, have been slated to fight twice previously to no avail.

With Gastelum health and back in the win column, it only makes sense to try this one again. Hopefully, the third time's the charm.