UFC 281 will be headlined by top Middleweight fighters, champ Israel Adesanya and title contender Alex Pereira.
Poatan has already beaten Izzy twice in the kickboxing circuit and will look to take Adesansya’s belt to make 3-0 in their head-to-head. Israel, however, is one of the most dominant and intelligent fighters in the division, who cleaned up the division with his striking precision and Fight IQ. So who wins? The short answer is neither.
It is fair to assume that majority, if not the entirety, of this fight, will take place in stand-up. Izzy is well aware of Poatan’s power, and Alex is well aware of how elusive and defensively sound Adesanya is. Although offensive striking metrics favor Alex, his output is beyond impressive 6.29 strikes landed per minute to Izzy’s 3.93, according to UFCStats. However, albeit slightly, Israel absorbs less damage, that is 2.67 strikes to Alex’s 3.36.
This is a very close fight to call, all while the betting community is hammering Adesansya’s Moneyline as I am finishing this article. Overall, I don’t see a clear advantage on either side.
It is a 50/50 fight. So I’m calling it a draw. I don’t see why not.
Official Prediction: Majority Draw.
UFC 281 takes place on Nov.12th at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY headlined by Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira for the middleweight title.
