With UFC 281 next up, Robert Whittaker has given his opinion on how he sees Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira playing out and the factor he expects to play a huge part in the outcome.
‘The Last Stylebender’ is preparing to make the sixth defense of his middleweight title and extend the domination of his division, but he must first get past one of his toughest tests till date inside the octagon. Despite only having seven fights in MMA, the Brazilian contender twice beat the champion during their days in kickboxing.
On James Lynch’s MMA Pros Pick, Robert Whittaker shared his prediction for the “tricky” matchup between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira:
“That’s a tricky fight to pin down. If I was a betting man, I’d have to go with Adesanya, you’d have to. I think he’s the best defensive striker in the game, physically it just makes perfect sense for him to fight that way and he’s a tricky guy to him. But, Pereira is huge, man. He’s a huge guy and they’ve fought before so they have some sort of understanding of each other’s reach. The biggest factor and variable in this fight is going to be the small gloves.”
‘The Reaper’ last competed at UFC Paris on September 3 and put on an all-time performance against fellow middleweight contender Marvin Vettori. Using his high-level grappling defense and elite striking, the Australian was able to dominate the fight and put himself back in the winner’s column.
At UFC 284 early next year, the 31-year-old will welcome the dangerous Paulo Costa into the octagon, with the winner of the bout likely to be considered for a title shot.
Check out what Whittaker had to say about the middleweight title clash in the video below:
What to expect in the Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira title match
Already known as a defensive-minded striker, Israel Adesanya will need to be on high alert if he wishes to avoid the big strikes of his opponent. That said, how will the fight play out?
Alex Pereira is known for having dynamite in his hands, but despite knocking ‘Izzy’ out during their second kickboxing bout, he was hurt multiple times and must respect the champion’s striking.
Both men will potentially put on a masterclass with a considerable number of fans expecting this one to essentially be a kickboxing match inside the coveted UFC octagon.