UFC middleweight Alex Pereira is set to take on Sean Strickland at UFC 276 this weekend. Headlining the card is middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, and overshadowing the middleweight clashes is Adesanya’s long-standing rivalry with Alex Pereira. At the pre-fight press conference, Pereira made a prediction for how the fight will end when, inevitably, the old foes meet once more.
“Well [Adesanya’s comments] actually makes me confused. Because with those two fights and the knockout, he actually claimed [the gloves] to be a pillow, but now we talk about four-ounce gloves.
Pereira: Adesanya Left on a Stretcher in Kickboxing, “imagine what’s going to happen with 4-ounce gloves”
It is a deadly weapon, but if the big pillows already make him leave on the stretcher with an [oxygen] balloon on him, imagine what’s going to happen with four-ounce [gloves].”
The first time Pereira and Adesanya met in the ring, it was a close split decision that went the Brazilian’s way. The second time, Adesanya seemed to be ahead for two rounds, when in the third Pereira delivered a thunderous knockout to claim victory a second time. It’s these two consecutive losses – which effectively ended Israel Adesanya’s kickboxing career, as he moved into MMA shortly afterward – that has the champ running scared of his old foe, at least according to Alex Pereira.
“I don’t think he wants the fight due to the history that we have. If he really wanted the fight, when I first signed with the UFC he wouldn’t let me do three fights like I’m doing now. He would just go to the organization and if he agrees, I want the rubber match right now and I want to get back those losses.
But after my win in [Madison Square] Garden, he said I still have four more wins before I reach to him. This is the third. But now goes and says that he wants to fight me next and everything that he’s saying because he sees that it’s on the contract so he has nowhere else to run.”
UFC fans will mostly pay attention to Pereira because of this old rivalry, but for the man himself it’s far from his greatest achievement.
“It doesn’t mean nothing to me when people say that because honestly I have way bigger achievements than defeating him in kickboxing. I became the GLORY double champ.
So I have so many wins and achievements and titles after that. Obviously those wins count to the whole scene that we’re having right now, but I believe that I have further more achievements than that.” Which way would Pereira vs Adesanya go? Let us know in the comments.
