Ahead of their MMA bouts scheduled for the next day, the fighters were on the UFC 287 fight card on the scale and square off in front of fans. Among them are Pereira and Adesanya.
Israel Adesanya’s nightmares have a first and last name: Alex Pereira. The Brazilian is the Nigerian’s pet peeve. He defeated him the three times they met.
This Saturday at the star-studded UFC 287 event, Adesanya will get another chance at redemption. He’s borderline, as Pereira knocked him out twice. If he loses again in this fight, he will remain in an extremely difficult middleweight position. At 33, the option of retirement would be more than plausible.
Adesanya is a wrestler who loves his job, so it didn’t take long for him to set up a rematch against Pereira. In Miami, Izzy won’t change much of her plan. The big difference between the two in November was the height difference, but Adesanya refused to fight harder. This fight was in his favor. He almost knocked the Brazilian out and letting him breathe was too big a mistake. Pereira charged his stamina and decided everything with one punch. Same scenario as in 2017. Adesanya won on points and finished by KO.
What really changed Adesanya was the way he fought. In November, he took everything too personally, and that could affect the outcome. This time, the former champion behaved more restrained: few interviews and not too much excitement.
Adesanya clearly sees what he needs to do. He needs to pick up the pace and make Pereira breathe. Here is Adesanya’s nightmare, the hand that immobilizes him again. It has avoidable qualities, but ghosts are very difficult to eliminate. Izzy will not only fight Pereira, but also himself at UFC 287.
Also Read: Glover Teixeira: Alex Pereira should ‘be more vigilant’ in UFC 287 rematch with Israel Adesanya.
