Regardless of the upcoming plans for each fighters, which contain Alex Pereira transitioning to the sunshine heavyweight division for a bout towards Jan Blachowicz, and Israel Adesanya awaiting his subsequent challenger within the middleweight class, the prospect of one other conflict between these longtime rivals might seem uncertain.
Nonetheless, contemplating their storied historical past, it stays throughout the realm of chance that these two adversaries might as soon as once more meet within the octagon. Of their ongoing four-fight sequence, Israel Adesanya achieved his preliminary victory over Pereira at UFC 287 in April, finally conquering his rival after a title combat loss at UFC 281 and two earlier kickboxing defeats to the Brazilian striker.
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Israel Adesanya will combat Pereira on one situation
Whereas it seems that each fighters are presently centered on totally different paths, Adesanya stays open to the thought of an MMA trilogy bout with Pereira if Pereira attains the championship in his new weight division.
“If he wins the belt at 205, I’ll do it once more,” Adesanya mentioned on The MMA Hour. “If not, I feel he’s finished with it, I’m finished with it, everybody else desires to see it, however we’re moved on. It’s life.”
Along with his expertise as a two-division champion in Glory Kickboxing, Pereira is not any stranger to claiming titles throughout totally different weight lessons. Demonstrating his versatility, he’s set to face Jan Blachowicz, a former UFC gentle heavyweight champion, within the co-main occasion of UFC 291 scheduled for July 29.
Throughout a current likelihood encounter on the airport, Israel Adesanya, who beforehand confronted Jan Blachowicz in a title protection, shared some strategic recommendation with Alex Pereira relating to their upcoming combat.
Is there nonetheless unhealthy blood between Adesanya and Pereira?
Adesanya’s hesitance to commit to a different bout with Pereira stems partly from the immense satisfaction he derived from knocking out Pereira of their second MMA encounter. Pereira’s earlier knockout victories over Adesanya in each kickboxing and the UFC have left a lingering shadow over Adesanya’s legacy, intensifying his want to even the rating.
The burden of those defeats has fueled Adesanya’s willpower to claim his dominance and solidify his personal repute, making him extra cautious when contemplating one other conflict with Pereira.
The trail to a title shot at 205 kilos for Pereira stays unsure. If he manages to defeat Blachowicz of their upcoming combat, it might probably propel him into competition for a title shot towards the present champion, Jamahal Hill.
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