The UFC Champion defends the middleweight title for the sixth time at UFC 281. “If I ever have to win a fight, this is it,” Israel Adesanya. The rivalry is not what has made these two fighters meet on Saturday, November 12, but all their attributes and career has put them in this place.
Now Israel seeks to win against his former kickboxing enemy Alex Pereira and says that he lets Alex show off on Tik Tok and do his things, but this is a fight, and people will see how he fights for his legacy, his courage, and his desire to rewrite history.
This is something personal for him, and his fight comes with all the courage he can have since he says that if there is a fight, it is this; there is no other that he must win.
Israel Adesanya vs Alex Pereira: The most anticipated fight in recent months inside UFC
On YouTube, we can see how the Nigerian fights to show how important this is for him and the time he has been in the UFC, and his change of sport to Mixed Martial Arts can become an advantage to give him victory this Saturday.
«He was watching Claressa Shields and Floyd Mayweather talk on FaceTime when he fought Pacquiao. He said that he got out of his seat for every round. He always thought, ‘Forget all the other fights. If there’s ever a fight I have to win, this is it. It’s this,'” said “The Last Stylebender.”
Israel adds five successful defenses as a middleweight without any defeat in the division. We are talking about his only loss, which he fought against Jan Blachwics for the light heavyweight; for his part, Alex Pereira has three wins without any defeat.
The public is excited, and the fighters appear for the first time in the octagon of Madison Square Garden in New York.
We remember Adesanya’s debut in 2012 and joining the UFC in 2018. He managed to beat Kelvin Gastelum for the interim UFC middleweight title in 2019, fighting and winning a few months later against Robert Whittaker to become champion. Since then, he has defended his title five times.
Pereira, for his part, has been a professional since 2015 and joined the UFC in 2021. His last participation was in July when he defeated Sean Strickland by Knockout.
The motivation of receiving a title shot after only seven professional fights provides enough drive to give it his all.
In Kickboxing, they have already faced each other twice, and Pereira defeated him in 2016 by decision and in 2017 by KO. This is the reason why Israel does not stop thinking that this fight is the one that will rewrite history and does not stop for a single moment to say that he is sure that he will win.
It’s hard to pick a favorite in this matchup as there are factors like their pasts where they both want to prove things. Pereira wants to maintain his image as a winner against Israel; on the other hand, Israel wants to rewrite history.
But the courage of both is something that causes that question of which can be the favorite.
As we mentioned before, this change of sport for Israel can be of great help and motivation, and on the other hand, this early offer of a title for Pereira becomes a treasure to conquer.
But although the task of defining that fight and knowing which is the favorite, many have already dared to name Israel the favorite. The truth is that both will give a worthy show of great value for the history of the UFC.
As Israel mentions, his words take on value every day that the fight approaches. He says that even though the past fights no longer mean anything to him, he has dusted them off and has performed a deep surgery on them to find out where he was wrong and promises Pereira to meet with a fighter that will surprise him and that is not the same one, he faced in those days.
And he says that he will have a great time in this fight and when he has fun he becomes the best in the world.
The UFC will have a relatively extensive billboard of stellar and preliminary fights. But if the most desirable fight for millions of fans and the 20 thousand lucky ones who will attend is precisely the fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira.
Here at VIP Sportsbook, we leave you the odds for this spectacular fight. Why don’t you try your luck today!
Alex Pereira +170
Israel Adesanya -210