Alex Pereira has warned Israel Adesanya that ‘The Last Stylebender’ won’t make it five rounds at UFC 281, guaranteeing a stoppage victory on Nov. 12.
Pereira is just three fights into his UFC career but is confident he has what it takes to defeat Adesanya given that he is already 2-0 over the reigning middleweight champion in kickboxing.
Their last fight at Glory of Heroes 7 ended in a knockout victory for Pereira after the Brazilian floored Adesanya with a vicious left hook in the third round, marking the first knockout loss of Adesanya’s combat sports career.
‘Poatan’ expects a similar result at UFC 281 where he will look to end Adesanya’s three-year reign as champion and become the first fighter to finish the Nigerian-born New Zealander in MMA as well as kickboxing.
“I can tell you that it will be impossible for him not to engage, if he’s within my reach I will hurt him,” Pereira said while speaking to Brazilian MMA Fighters (h/t Low Kick MMA). “And five rounds he won’t make it, five rounds? And I come close, you can see in the fights that I come close, I have a very good defense. He will want to attack or counterattack, but I can hurt him with my defense too.”
“I saw in his fights that he kicks a lot and the guys don’t have the right time, the right time to block, you can hurt him with a block,” he added. “The guy kicked, you blocked, maybe he won’t kick anymore. He’s got a big weapon and I can sort of eliminate it early on, I’ll be close to him, if he doesn’t hit me he’ll get beaten, and if he hits me he’ll get as tired as me. “
UFC 281: Adesanya Vs. Pereira takes place on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
