Israel Adesanya has never beaten Alex Pereira, who has been a rival for a long time. Adesanya has a record of 0-3 thus far, with his most recent defeat occurring at UFC 281, which took place in November of last year. As a result of this defeat, he no longer has the undisputed middleweight title. In the fourth battle in their professional MMA series, Israel Adesanya is focused on achieving victory over Alex Pereira.
A rematch for the UFC 185-pound title is scheduled to take place between the two at UFC 287. And for Adesanya, the fact that he was finally able to earn a victory over Pereira is much more important than the fact that he was able to reclaim the belt that he had previously held for three consecutive years.
According to MMA Fighting, Israel Adesanya was reported as saying: “I’ve never not been motivated to fight this guy, but for this one I’ve put the pressure on myself.
“Like, f*** the belt, f*** everything else. I have to beat this guy, so that’s my motivation, just beating him. Like I said, they can say whatever they want, it’s 1-0 or 3-0, I don’t keep score, I settle them and I just need one and I’m going to get it done.”
“Just keep the same energy because I’m always beating him until I’m not, so I’m just going to make sure I keep beating him the whole way through.”
“I go in there and I don’t overthink,” Adesanya added.
“I’m not gun shy. I go in there and I trade with people, especially with him as well, so expect me to do what I do. Like I said, I have to talk because you guys want me to talk, but say less and I’ll do more. I promise you I’ll do more in this fight,” he concluded
Adesanya suffered his first defeat at the hands of Pereira in 2016, when the fight ended in a unanimous decision. Adesanya’s second defeat came in 2017 when Pereira knocked him out in the third round. A number of observers were of the opinion that the decision made after the first fight was unfair and that Adesanya ought to have been the one to take home the victory. However, it can be argued that Adesanya was in the lead right up until the point where he was knocked out in the second fight as well.
The main event of the pay-per-view on April 8 will feature a rematch between Adesanya and his longtime opponent Alex Pereira. Adesanya will be competing for the UFC middleweight title, which he surrendered to Pereira in November of last year after being knocked out in the fifth round of their fight.