by Israel Adesanya holds his cards close to his chest for his third fight with Alex Pereira.
The challenger currently holds a 2-0 advantage over Adesanya after twice defeating the UFC Middleweight Champion in kickboxing. Her first fight was a hard fought affair, which Pereira won via split decision, and her second fight ended in an incredible KO win for Pereira, repeated countless times before their UFC 281 main event fight in New York.
As Adesanya heads towards his next title defense purely on business, he is aware that narrative stakes are at stake this Saturday.
“It is [business]but it’s personal,” Adesanya continued The MMA lesson. “This is about me and my legacy. This is about rewriting history. Even though it’s history and I’ve never chased it, the point here is that I’m rewriting history in a new way and just showing people what I’m really capable of, because you must have forgotten it again. They forget, they always forget. Because of this Tik Tok era, the attention span is so fast, they move on so fast.
“So this is personal. For me I didn’t say so much, he can do all the tennis ball videos and damn hoverboard things he wants, but for me I’m just like, ‘Cool. you make yourself.’ He has every right to brag, so let him brag, but when it’s time I know something he doesn’t. I can not tell you.”
Pereira earns his UFC title shot in just his eighth pro MMA fight and fourth for promotion, but has a wealth of kickboxing experience, including championship wins in two divisions for glory kickboxing. He is 3-0 in the UFC and was picked as Adesanya’s next challenger after knocking out Sean Strickland in the first round last July.
The Brazilian forward has been on the fast track to a fight with Adesanya since his UFC debut in November 2021, and Adesanya feels he deserves some credit for removing all other contenders from Pereira’s title path.
“He wouldn’t be here without me,” Adesanya said. “If it weren’t for me, he would have been exposed a long time ago. Without me – I cleared the way. I cleared the division first so there really wasn’t anyone left to fight with. I paved the way for him.”
said Pereira on MMA Fighting free exchange Podcast that he believes a win over Adesanya will give him a clear advantage in the legacy department given their head-to-head results and kickboxing titles. Adesanya is yet to lose in the UFC, competing at 185 pounds and has successfully defended the undisputed title five straight years.
The Last Stylebender scoffed at Pereira’s boast.
“The ‘Glory Hole’,” Adesanya said, laughing. “I could buy this promotion if I wanted to.
“I win. I win in life. I do a lot better than him and he builds everything on me, which when he hits to such a high level because I’m on top, on top. Rise.”
What went wrong in the second fight, where Adesanya appeared to be leading the dance before a left hand from “Poatan” knocked out his light, Adesanya believes he walked away from what worked and it cost him.
“I didn’t stay true to my style,” Adesanya said. “I was younger and only let the outside noise affect me and I wasn’t true to my style. i know me If I hurt someone – even [my brother] David said, “You know how to put people down,” and when I watch fights, I’m like, “Why are you headhunting? Why are you headhunting?’ I was headhunting, I was only using my right hand, that’s the dumbest thing I could have done. So I didn’t stay true to my style and that cost me. That bothered me a lot more than a knockout.”
What secret strategy Adesanya is planning to make sure his third fight with Pereira ends differently, he won’t reveal.
“I’m looking forward to this one for several reasons,” said Adesanya. “I know something you don’t know. [About me]fuck him.”
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