A UFC Middleweight Championship rematch between current champion Alex Pereira (also former Glory Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Champion) and former champion Israel Adesanya is expected to headline the event. The pairing previously met at UFC 281 in which Pereira captured the title by fifth round knockout. The two also previously met twice in kickboxing matchups. The first in April 2016 which Pereira won by unanimous decision. Their second meeting took place at Glory of Heroes 7 in March 2017 which Pereira won by third round knockout.

Legacy Fighting Alliance 95: Pereira vs. Powell was the ninety-sixth event of Legacy Fighting Alliance and took place on November 20, 2020. It aired on UFC Fight Pass.

UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 6, 2021, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. A UFC Welterweight Championship rematch between the current champion Kamaru Usman (also The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians welterweight winner) and former interim champion Colby Covington headlined the event.

UFC Fight Night 203: Santos vs. Ankalaev was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 12, 2022 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. A light heavyweight bout between former UFC Light Heavyweight Championship challenger Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev served as the event headliner.

UFC 291: Poirier vs. Gaethje 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 29, 2023, at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. A lightweight rematch between former interim UFC Lightweight Champions Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje (also former WSOF Lightweight Champion) headlined the event. They also competed for the symbolic "BMF" (baddest motherfucker) title, which was vacated after the original holder Jorge Masvidal retired in April. The pairing first met at UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje in April 2018 which Poirier won by fourth-round TKO.

UFC 291 Countdown previews an epic rematch between fan-favorite’s Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje, who will compete for the one-of-a-kind 'BMF' belt. Plus, former light heavyweight king Jan Blachowicz faces former middleweight champ Alex Pereira.

UFC 295: Procházka vs. Pereira was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 11, 2023, at the Madison Square Garden in New York City. A UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between current champion Jon Jones and former two-time champion Stipe Miocic was expected to headline the event. However on October 25, it was announced that the bout was scrapped after Jones sustained a pectoral muscle injury that will require surgery. As a result, the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout for the vacant title between former champion Jiří Procházka and former UFC Middleweight Champion Alex Pereira served as the main event.

UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 2, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. The event was held during the UFC's 10th annual International Fight Week. The 2022 UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony also took place during the week. A UFC Middleweight Championship bout between current champion Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier headlined the event.

UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 12, 2022, at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. A UFC Middleweight Championship bout between current champion Israel Adesanya and former Glory Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira headlined the event. The pairing previously met twice in kickboxing matchups. The first in April 2016 which Pereira won by unanimous decision. Their second meeting took place at Glory of Heroes 7 in March 2017, which Pereira won by third-round knockout.