UFC welterweight Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson is anticipating an all-time classic when Israel Adesanya clashes with his old Glory kickboxing enemy Alex Pereira. The Adesanya-Pereira rivalry has been heating up ever since Pereira arrived in the UFC, and “Wonderboy” has a prediction for their inevitable rematch.
Thompson went deep on the potential fight on his YouTube channel. “Both guys haven’t changed a lot dramatically when it comes to their standup. This is MMA. Anything can happen, anybody can look for a takedown. You’ve also got to go into the fight thinking that as well. You’ve got to prepare for that. Do I think Alex Pereira is going to look for a takedown? No. I think this fight’s going to stay standing. I think it’s going to be a classic Muay Thai fight, including the elbows and more knees. … I think it’s going to be a great fight.
Wonderboy Picks Adesanya To Defeat Pereira in “classic Muay Thai fight”
No matter what, I want to see this fight. Who else is Izzy going to fight but Alex Pereira? These guys have history together. This is the only guy to put Izzy to sleep. I think they’ve got to run it back a third time, third time’s the charm. Izzy’s got to win it, that’s how I see it.”
The rivalry between Adesanya and Pereira stretches back to two fights when the pair were fighting for Glory kickboxing. Pereira handed Adesanya two consecutive defeats, which led Adesanya to pivot into MMA. Adesanya’s UFC career has been nothing short of stellar. The Nigerian-New Zealander remains undefeated at 185 pounds, with his sole MMA loss coming when the middleweight champ attempted to move up to the light heavyweight division to claim then-champ Jan Blachowicz’s crown.
Israel Adesanya has faced criticism in some circles for a “boring” reign as champion. Notwithstanding the stellar knockout over Robert Whittaker that earned him the UFC belt, and his stoppage win over Paulo Costa, Adesanya has, of late, seemed to cruise to victory in his title defenses. Most recently, he won a five-round snoozefest against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276.
Many fans hope that a fight against Alex Pereira, who knocked Izzy out cold in his final kickboxing fight, will ignite the fire inside “The Last Stylebender” and offer fight fans a true middleweight classic. Pereira’s incendiary striking – on display at UFC 276 when he obliterated Sean Strickland in round one – might also end the Izzy era as middleweight champ.
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