Israel Adesanya, the man who fights like a video game character. Looking to make yet another defence of his title. Source: UFC
Israel Adesanya credits Alex Pereira for recovery skills in first meeting, but vow revenge at UFC 287
Israel Adesanya credited UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira for his recovery skills in their first meeting but vowed to get revenge at UFC 287.
Back at UFC 281 last November, Adesanya put his middleweight belt on the line when he entered the fight with Pereira as the betting favorite. Heading into the fifth and final round of the fight, Adesanya was up 3-1 on the scorecards and appeared to be just five minutes away from winning the fight. Unfortunately for Adesanya, he got caught by Pereira late in the fight, suffering a fifth-round TKO loss and losing his 185lbs belt in the process.
This Saturday night at UFC 287, Adesanya will get his chance to get his belt back when he takes on Pereira in the rematch. Speaking to the “DC & RC” show, Adesanya was asked about what he can take away from their first UFC fight into their second. As far as the former champ is concerned, one thing that he noticed in the last meeting was his opponent’s recovery skills, something that he believes he will have to keep more in mind this time around.
“I was dominating. I was winning the fight in every exchange, the standup and the ground. He recovers very well, that’s something I definitely didn’t expect, was his recovery. I put the beating on him, I hurt him, I got him tired, but he recovered very well and was able to close the show, so that’s something I can definitely take away from the last fight in our first four rounds,” Adesanya said (via MMAjunkie.com).
It will be interesting to see what adjustments both fighters make in this rematch. For Adesanya, though, given that he’s now 0-3 against Pereira with two prior losses in kickboxing, it’s vital he makes the proper changes.
