UFC 281 pits long-time rivals Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira for the middleweight title. The pair’s history dates back to their days as professional kickboxers. Adesanya and Pereira fought twice, with the Brazilian getting the better of the Nigerian-born New Zealander on both occasions.
Adding to that, ‘Poatan’s’ second victory over ‘The Last Stylebender’ was a flush KO, which remains the only time Adesanya has been finished in his entire fighting career.
In terms of their UFC careers, there are no comparisons. Adesanya is undefeated in the middleweight division and has defended the title on five occasions. The 35-year-old Brazilian, on the other hand, only made his UFC debut last year but has impressed everyone in that short time. ‘Poatan’ has won all three of his fights so far, including a stunning KO over Sean Strickland back in July.
On the latest episode of the Believe You Me podcast, Anthony Smith stated that he considers Alex Pereira a serious risk to Israel Adesanya’s reign as champion:
Check out the full episode here:
Chael Sonnen gives his take on Alex Pereira mimicking Israel Adesanya’s training
Chael Sonnen recently weighed in on Alex Pereira mocking Israel Adesanya by sharing a video of himself training on a hoverboard. According to Sonnen, ‘Poatan’ is doing the right thing by trying to get into the head of the middleweight champion.
‘The American Gangster’ was also interested in what Adesanya’s reaction was going to be. The 45-year-old believes that fighters often struggle if their own tactics are used against them. It may be more so in this case due to Pereira’s size advantage over the 185-pound champion.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen said:
Catch Sonnen’s video here:
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