Israel Adesanya is preparing to face the only man in combat sport with two wins against him, Alex Pereira. The two middleweights faced each other in kickboxing, with ‘Poatan’ winning via decision and knockout, respectively.
The history between the two fighters has fueled the fire of anticipation heading into UFC 281.
It will be fascinating to see if the skeletons in Adesanya’s closet will affect the champion visually ahead of his clash with ‘Poatan’.
NEW YORK – The build to Saturday’s UFC 281 headliner between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira added another unique layer with a faceoff between the pair at the Empire State Building.
After engaging in their first fight week staredown at the pre-fight press conference, Adesanya (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) and Pereira (6-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) took it to the next level Thursday when they traveled to the top of one of Manhattan’s most iconic landmarks and locked eyes.
It was a special scene ahead of the main event clash, which will see Adesanya put middleweight gold on the line against Pereira at Madison Square Garden. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.
You can watch their faceoff in the video bellow:
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Alex Pereira talks about the effect of his KO win on Israel Adesanya ahead of their title fight at UFC 281
With UFC 281 fast approaching, Alex Pereira took the time to recall his old but devastating knockout of current UFC champion Israel Adesanya, insisting that the loss is still plaguing him.
‘Poatan’ has been a force since joining the UFC, and has used his years of striking experience to put on some bone-crushing displays against a number of the top middleweights in the world. Though it was over five years ago, the Brazilian is hoping to score another sickening finish of the champion and take his throne.
While sitting down for media obligations ahead of UFC 281 this weekend, Alex Pereira announced his certainty that Israel Adesanya still has visions of the knockout at Glory Heroes 7 back in 2017.
“It’s [the knockout] still there for sure, you know what I mean? I don’t know how he could possibly erase that KO from his mind, but I know it’s still there.”
Israel Adesanya is a long-reigning champion who has dominated most of the top-ranked fighters in his division. That could come to an end when he is met by his old foe, Pereira, on Saturday night.
‘The Last Stylebender’ hasn’t shied away from mentioning his two losses to the South American, but believes he outclasses his opponent and retains his title on November 12.
UFC 281 looks to be a great card filled with a number of storylines that true MMA fans would not want to miss. Alongside the headliner, the event will showcase Carla Esparza’s title fight against Zhang Weili, a 155lb title eliminator between Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler, and Frankie Edgar’s retirement bout.
Check out what Alex Pereira had to say about his past knockout of the middleweight champion in the video below.