The rivalry between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya is one of the most exciting in MMA. Both men have been at the top of their game for years, and they’ve faced off in multiple combat sports. Their most recent fight, in UFC 281, was a brutal back-and-forth battle that saw Pereira win via a fifth-round TKO.

The first fight between these two was a spectacle. Now, just a few months later, the two are set to face each other again at UFC 287 on April 8th, 2023. Recently, Ray Longo, the coach of bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling, appeared on the Anik & Florian Podcast On the podcast. He stated his opinions about the upcoming fight between Pereira and Adesanya.

Is Israel Adesanya vs Alex Pereira rematch happening too soon?

Longo gave credit to Adesanya for coming back so quickly after his loss but expressed concern about the short turnaround time. He noted that it is very difficult to come back from a fight like their previous one.

“I give Izzy all the credit in the world (for) coming back, I mean he’s lost three times, the guy won in MMA (once), twice in kickboxing. I think he should have taken a little more time off you know, it’s hard to come back that sort of time because it wasn’t like he didn’t take any damage.”

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He even gave the example of the Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman rematch that Usman lost. “I think it’s hard. We saw it with Usman and Leon Edwards. It’s just it’s not easy to come back and win those fights”. Edwards defeated Usman at UFC 278 in August 2022 via KO to win the welterweight title. Less than 7 months later, they faced each other in a rematch that Usman lost, this time via decision.

Ray Longo picks his winner!

“I’m gonna have to go with Alex on this one. He certainly has the power, he looks like a complete monster. He looks like he’s he’s dialed in constantly”, Longo said. Longo even talked about Pereira’s grappling and jiu-jitsu but claimed that “it’s easier to try to tighten that up in four months than it is to get your chin back to normal (referring to Adesanya’s KO).

What he meant by this was that Pereira could have improved his grappling and jiu-jitsu skills in the last four months. However, it must have been more difficult for Adesanya to heal from the TKO. It appears both fighters are hungry for victory, and this rematch is sure to be just as exciting as their first meeting. Fans around the world are eagerly awaiting the fight. It’s sure to be a night to remember in the world of MMA. Watch this space for more news relating to the buildup of this massive title fight.

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