Sustaining he has now settled the rating with Brazilian rival, Alex Pereira off the again of his April knockout win, UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya admits that he’ll doubtless by no means share a fight sports activities setting with the previous once more – except the previous lands gentle heavyweight spoils.
Adesanya, the present and two-time middleweight champion, headlined UFC 287 again in April in Miami, Florida in opposition to Sao Paulo native, Pereira, scoring a surprising second spherical KO win over the previous GLORY Kickboxing gold holder.
The knockout win returned Adesanya to the winner’s enclosure for the primary time in his middleweight profession in combined martial arts, following a UFC 281 standing TKO loss to Pereira of their title showdown.
Israel Adesanya performs down a possible rematch with Alex Pereira
And regardless of boasting a 1-3 document in opposition to Brazilian knockout artist, Pereira over the course of their four-fight skilled collection, Adesanya, who claims that his rating with the previous is settled, additionally denied a potential combat with the Brazilian sooner or later once more.
“If (Alex Pereira) wins the 205 [pound] belt, perhaps,” Israel Adesanya stated of one other combat with Alex Pereira throughout an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “If – if he wins the 205 pound belt.”
“If I wanna wager cash on it, no,” Israel Adesanya defined. “‘Trigger 205 – I’ve been there, it’s laborious. It’s no simple job. However, yeah, if he wins the 205 pound belt although – and so they [the UFC] would possibly give him a quick monitor, like they did with me. After which they’re gonna have a magic, loopy, f*cking epic combat with me and him. Then that’ll be us for the fifth time – ain’t that wild?”
But to be booked since reclaiming gold, Adesanya has been earmarked to headline a September pay-per-view card in opposition to both former champion, Robert Whittaker, or the surging, Dricus du Plessis.
As for Pereira, the fan-favorite finisher has been booked to co-headline UFC 291 subsequent month in Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah – taking up soon-to-be common-foe, former gentle heavyweight champion, Jan Blachowicz.
