Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira: How Have the Rivals Fared in the UFC and Kickboxing

When the conversation shifts to the UFC’s middleweight division, the rivalry between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira takes its spot among the top feuds in the history of the promotion. Beginning the rivalry from Glory Kickboxing, Pereira and Adesanya brought the heat to the world of mixed martial arts. There is hardly any other rivalry in the company that started at a different sport of a different promotion and continued till the UFC.

The duo have fought four times, with the majority of wins lying under Pereira’s belt. Today, let’s take a deep dive into the rivalry between Pereira and Adesanya, and see how the two fared against each other.

Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira I

Israel Adesanya’s nightmare-like conflict against Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira started off at the ‘Glory of Heroes’ event held in China. ‘The Last Stylebender’ started off the bout in a dominant fashion and outstruck his archrival, Pereira. He landed several significant shots in the earlier rounds. However, Pereira also began throwing in his combinations just a few minutes after the beginning.

Making the bout even more interesting, Pereira also connected with several combinations. Further, both combatants showcased a slowing down trend in the final rounds. But neither of them was able to capitalize on the situation. In the end, the judges decided to declare the results in favor of the Brazilian.

However, Adesanya felt that he should have won the bout. In a post-fight interview with ‘MMA News’ prior to UFC 276, Adesanya weighed back on his first clash with Pereira. He stated, “I fu**ed this guy up in the first fight. Not crazy, but the judges gave it to him.” The controversy around the decision of the bout clearly pointed out the possibility of a rematch.

Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira II

After his victory over Adesanya, Pereira ramped up quite a few victories and claimed the Glory Kickboxing Middleweight Championship. But this also made the chances of a rematch even brighter. In the meantime, Adesanya also rose up his ranks and became the #1 contender for the Glory Kickboxing Middleweight Championship.

The touted rematch between the two was finally fixed and scheduled for March 2017. The opportunity for ‘The Last Stylebender’ to avenge his controversial loss against ‘Poatan’ had finally arrived. But the reality turned out to be rather appalling for Adesanya. Despite starting off the bout strongly and pressurizing Pereira to the corner a couple of times, ‘Izzy’ was knocked down to the canvas by a devastating left hook by Pereira in the final round of the bout.

After his loss, Adesanya stated, “It’s a beautiful story for him. In his backyard, down two rounds, in the third round he comes and knocks me out”. Back then, it was also the first time that Izzy had been knocked out in his combat sports career. Soon after that, Adesanya decided to move on to the realm of MMA.

Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira III at UFC 281

‘Izzy’s’ second defeat against Pereira marked the end of his kickboxing career. The fighter then transitioned to MMA and was signed by the UFC in 2018. He cut through almost every UFC middleweight on the roster, claiming the UFC middleweight championship title to his name. However, Adesanya’s archrival also made his way into the UFC in 2021. It helped the UFC as it added another worthy contender to the middleweight division.

Pereira also picked up three straight wins post his UFC entry, which awarded him a shot at his archrival, Israel Adesanya’s, UFC middleweight championship. Hence, the two were scheduled to face off at the main event of UFC 281 on 13 November 2022 with the middleweight gold on the line.

This time, too, Adesanya started off quite strong. He had also approached mighty close to his unfulfilled dream of defeating ‘Poatan’ as he landed a stiff straight right and followed it up with a left hook at the end of the first round that wobbled ‘Poatan’. But Pereira was saved by the bell which signaled the end of the round right at that point.

However, ‘The Brazilian’ started showcasing his prowess in the later rounds of the bout. ‘Poatan’ also snatched ‘Izzy’s’ UFC middleweight championship with this victory. But UFC 287 had a different story to tell.

Adesanya vs. Pereira at UFC 287: Score finally settled?

Despite three losses against Pereira, ‘Izzy’ didn’t believe in giving up. He also revealed that he wanted to fight Pereira until he defeated him. And that’s exactly what he did! Adesanya avenged his previous losses at UFC 287, as he finally sent the man with ‘hands of stone’ to the shadow realm with a KO.

In the second round of the bout, Adesanya defended himself from Pereira’s strikes and countered with a right fist. Surprisingly, the punch knocked ‘Poatan’ out cold, and Adesanya finally achieved what he had always wanted to. This marked the end of the rivalry as Adesanya celebrated his win with Pereira’s infamous bow and arrow move.

However, Adesanya wasn’t able to hold on to the middleweight belt for long. But that doesn’t mean he won’t fight for it again. With his next bout against Dricus Du Plessis, the Nigerian-born fighter aims to become the champion for the third time at UFC 305.

Do you also want ‘The Last Stylebender’ to reclaim the UFC Middleweight throne?