After suffering defeat to Alex Pereira for the third time in his professional combat sports career, Israel Adesanya has seemingly begun taking a different approach. ‘The Last Stylebender’ is working on his grappling for their potential rematch under the UFC banner.
‘Poatan’ was fast-tracked to a UFC title shot and took full advantage of the opportunity by scoring a TKO finish on the champion and claiming middleweight gold. Despite fairly beating the long-reigning king of the division, the Brazilian is being labeled by fans as a titleholder who will soon lose his belt.
In footage that has surfaced online, Israel Adesanya can be seen engaging in heavy grappling sessions. The former champ has been working on his ground and pound as he prepares to win his middleweight throne back sometime in 2023.
Throughout their bout on November 12th, Adesanya showcased some of his ever-improving grappling. He managed to take his opponent down and control him on the ground, landing some shots during that time.
‘The Last Stylebender’ has a host of talent alongside him in his City Kickboxing home, with a number of high-level wrestlers ready to aid in his pursuit of personal revenge.
While a grappling game could be the way to recapture his middleweight title, Alex Pereira is no slouch in the ground game. He has been working on sharpening that part of his game alongside his good friend and training partner, Glover Teixeira.
The 185lb championship rematch is likely to take place next year, but if Adesanya isn’t standing across the octagon from the South American, we could potentially see Robert Whittaker be given a well-deserved shot at gold.
Does Israel Adesanya have any chance of beating Alex Pereira?
While it’s not intelligent to count anybody out who steps foot into the octagon, it’s even worse to believe a man of Israel Adesanya’s caliber cannot overcome the terrifying obstacle presented by Alex Pereira.
The Nigerian has shown that he is capable of not only competing with the champion but also outworking and getting the better of him. He showcased as much against the former GLORY kickboxer throughout their three meetings thus far.
Despite arguably being the better fighter, Adesanya has struggled with Pereira’s power, which has always been reliable for the 35-year-old each and every time the two have met inside the ring or cage. Though nothing has been made official as of now, the majority of the MMA world is expecting a rematch announcement soon.