-
Israel Adesanya vs Alex Pereira – 9/10
The cross-sport trilogy – an occurrence that has rarely taken place in combat sports and perhaps never has taken place with MMA being one of the sports – between the champion and the only man to beat him twice is the UFC 281 main event. The striking skill level of these men could not be higher and the competitiveness could not be higher. It should be fun to watch but Adesanya’s last few performances have not been the most exciting and that is the only place this bout loses points.
Although Izzy was defeated twice by ‘Poatan’ in kickboxing, the decision in the first fight was highly debatable and ‘Stylebender’ was ahead in the second before Pereira caught him with a brilliant left hook. That left hook might be what the Brazilian is looking for on Saturday, but it will be hard. The smaller gloves favor Adesanya over Pereira as Alex is a more traditional kickboxer who liked to block shots on his large gloves in his kickboxing career, something that is hard to do with four ounce gloves. The larger ring and ruleset also favor Israel, who has had more time to build his style for MMA, likes to use movement to stay clean, and had an easier transition to MMA in the first place as his atypical style is built more on evasiveness than on blocking shots. There is the chance, and the champ even joked about this himself, that Adesanya chooses to play it safe and, “Jab and low kick him,” to a decision. Thus, the 9/10. Still, the fight is going to be fought at as elite of a striking level as there is and the drama is at an all-time high given the history between the athletes.
Adesanya’s Best Fight: vs Gastelum
Pereira’s Best Fight: vs Strickland
