UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has praised his former opponent Alex Pereira after his flying knee knockout win in his UFC debut fight at UFC 268. Alex Pereira has fought UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in the kickboxing circuit. The pair have engaged twice with both the wins going to Alex. He won one of the fights via decision while he won the other fight by a brutal knockout. Now Alex is in the UFC and is looking for a path to clash with his former opponent Israel. Israel Adesanya after watching Alex’s debut fight in the UFC has hoped that he will get challenge Alex in the future.
Alex Pereira is the former GLORY Middleweight and Light Heavyweight champion. His first MMA bout was against Quemuel Ottoni at Jungle Fight in 2015. The debut in the MMA world didn’t go as planned as he lost the fight via third-round submission. He then went on to score two back-to-back wins before signing up with LFA. In his promotion debut, he fought Thomas Powell and defeated him in the very first round of the fight.
Alex Pereira made his promotional debut against Andreas Michailidis on 6 November 2021 at UFC 268. The fight was a dominant performance for Alex who knocked out his opponent in the second round.
Israel Adesanya after watching Alex’s fight gave his honest opinion on the performance and also talked about a potential fight.
In a video posted to his personal YouTube channel, Israel Adesanya can be seen giving his live reaction to the fights at UFC 268.
“It’s pretty much like me and (Derek) Brunson – he’s trying to find a way (to take him down) cause he’s scared of the striking,” Adesanya said in the video (h/t MMAJunkie). “Cause you know he’s going to shoot, well-timed knee just straight up. Bang. There it is. I thought he was going to do it when he shot in, but I didn’t think he was going to fly at him.”
Israel Adesanya also talked about a potential fight with Alex. He hopes that Alex keeps on winning his next few fights and then challenges Israel for the belt.
“We talked about this like two days ago. We need something new. Especially after you lap the division again. … Good job Pereira, that was nice. One thing I notice is everyone always holds on to that win he has over me like it’s the be all end all. I hope he does well. I hope he does well through the ranks. In the next four fights, I hope to see him. They’ll show you the knockout, but they won’t show you what happened before the finish. I hurt him, but I only throw (hands) because I was infiltrated by other people’s thoughts. But that was when I was younger. Not anymore. It’s different now. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
What do you guys think of the matchup between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira?
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Israel Adesanya gives his live reaction to Alex Pereira’s debut KO win
- Israel Adesanya hopes to fight Alex
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