UFC light heavyweight champ Glover Teixeira has been training with middleweight up-and-comer Alex Pereira for a long while. Pereira handed middleweight champ Israel Adesanya two losses back when both were fighting for kickboxing promotion GLORY. On The MMA Hour Teixeira claimed that his teammate has been ready to chase down “The Last Stylebender” in the Octagon since long before he even signed up with the UFC.
“Take nothing away from Adesanya, but I think Alex has been ready for Adesanya since the first fight in the UFC. I knew he was going to climb the ladder. I already know. Because the styles. Styles make fights and Alex is getting better, better and better.
Glover Teixeira: Pereira Has Been Ready for Adesanya Since Before UFC Debut
The guy’s fighting IQ is so high. He’s so smart. You don’t understand. This guy’s a genius when it comes to fighting. He was talking to Lyoto [Machida], and Lyoto said that the things that he said to him are the things Lyoto’s father said to him. He learns so fast.
For Adesanya, [Alex Pereira] was ready before he got in the UFC. He was ready for [Adesanya] the first fight he had in the UFC. Because of that style. I don’t think Adesanya has the ground to beat him. It’s going to be a striking battle.”
Israel Adesanya’s clinical, lethal striking has left him undefeated at middleweight. His sole MMA loss came when Adesanya attempted to move up to the light heavyweight division, where he was dominated by then-champion Jan Blachowicz. Alex Pereira, like “The Last Stylebender”, is a ruthless striker with an eye for knockout blows, like the flying knee he landed in his UFC debut.
Pereira’s biggest weakness – perhaps his only weakness – from an MMA perspective is a lack of ground game. Unusually for a fighter under the UFC banner, Pereira only boasts a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Even his fellow kickboxer, Israel Adesanya, has a purple belt, albeit without a single submission win in his entire professional career.
While the idea of Adesanya vs Pereira going to the ground might seem laughable, it’s possible that the champ won’t want to stand and trade blows with a fellow stand-up expert.
Before any of this can happen, Israel Adesanya is due to fight Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 this July. It will mark his fifth title defense.
Do you think Alex Pereira will be the one to dethrone Israel Adesanya at middleweight, or has Izzy improved in the years since they last met? Let us know in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dVjy__zUpg
