Israel Adesanya’s greatest rival from the world of kickboxing is coming to the UFC. Alex Pereira, the former GLORY champion who twice defeated Israel Adesanya in kickboxing, will make his UFC debut against Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268.
His training partner, Glover Teixeira, says the middleweight champion known as “The Last Stylebender” is right to be “sh*t scared” of Pereira’s arrival.
Teixeira: Adesanya “Sh*t-scared” of GLORY Champ Alex Pereira’s Arrival in the UFC
Teixeira told MMAFighting.com’s Portuguese-language podcast Trocação Franca that Adesanya fears Pereira. “Daddy’s in the UFC. Adesanya doesn’t wanna talk about it, ‘This guy is just getting here,’ but he knows it’s a tough one for him.
No one gives Adesanya more trouble at 185 than him. I’m not saying he’s going to win, it’s another fight, another time, another style, but Adesanya must be praying, ‘For the love of God, put someone like Phil Davis for this guy.’”
Teixeira continued, espousing Pereira’s enormous punching power. “He hits your right rib and the left rib hurts. Adesanya is no match for him. First of all, he’ll be coming in sh*t-scared. [Pereira] knocked him out with 10-ounce gloves.
With four-ounce gloves on his hand now… And Adesanya doesn’t have the knockout power “Poatan” has. He’s f*cking good, don’t get me wrong, Adesanya is awesome, but he doesn’t hit like him. Adesanya hits like a normal guy, “Poatan” is not normal.”
Adesanya is undefeated at 185 pounds in MMA, but during his kickboxing days suffered two losses at Alex Pereira’s hands. One of these was a brutal knockout, and many believe that it was these losses that spurred Adesanya to pursue an MMA career. A trilogy bout – this time under MMA rules – may well be in his future.
However, if you ask Glover Teixeira, Adesanya’s prodigious kickboxing won’t be enough to take Pereira out. Teixeira similarly trashed Adesanya’s grappling ability.
“Adesanya has no ground game, at least based on what I saw in his last fight. Adesanya has no ground and wrestling to take Poatan down. In fact, I think Poatan is better than him. I won’t tell you he’s one of the best, a ‘Jacare’ or Rodolfo Vieira on the ground.
But he defends well on the ground, has good defensive wrestling, and the way he moves on the feet makes it tougher to close the distance. I have good takedowns, but it’s hard to get to him. I expect him to do well in the UFC.”
It’s great to see Teixeira supporting his friend and teammate, but do you think Pereira will cause the middleweight division as much trouble as this? Will he truly threaten the middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, who has never lost a middleweight bout? Let us know in the comments.
Remember to stay up to date with the latest news on TheOvertimer. Don’t forget to visit Screenstinger for great videos, news, and gameplay!
