Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya: Who had a better kickboxing career?

Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya had stellar runs in kickboxing before they shifted their sights to MMA.

Pereira holds a record of 33 wins against 7 losses, while the Kiwi's record stands at 75 victories and 5 defeats. However, the Brazilian has captured both the Glory middleweight and light-heavyweight titles. The 35-year-old also defended his middleweight title five times.

Adesanya's Glory record is a modest 2-2, and the UFC middleweight champion never won a world championship with the premier Singapore-based promotion.

Furthermore, 'Poatan' holds two victories against the Nigerian-born New Zealander in kickboxing. He first defeated the reigning UFC middleweight champion at Glory of Heroes 1 via unanimous decision.

The second time around, Adesanya suffered a worse fate as he was knocked out by Pereira in the third round of their Glory of Heroes 7 fight. Alex Pereira is the only man to have knocked out Adesanya in his storied combat sports career.

Watch Pereira knock out Adesanya below:

'Poatan' and 'The Last Stylebender' are scheduled to face each other at UFC 281 on November 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The event will mark the Brazilian's maiden title shot in the UFC.

Pereira currently holds a pro-MMA record of six wins against one loss. In his last fight at UFC 276, the 35-year-old secured a first-round KO victory over the No.7-ranked contender Sean Strickland.

Israel Adesanya holds a pro-MMA record of 23-1. Having won the middleweight title from Robert Whittaker at UFC 243, he has defended the title five times.

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Israel Adesanya says that the pressure is on Alex Pereira at UFC 281

During a recent interview with ESPN, reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya told Stephen A. Smith that he doesn't feel any pressure going into UFC 281.

Referring to the time he was knocked out by Pereira in kickboxing, 'The Last Stylebender' said that the pressure is on the Brazilian for this fight:

"If you want to see him beating me, go to YouTube, it has got millions of views. The worse has already happened... That's the worse thing that can happen. So I'm like it's going to happen again? Cool, you can look on YouTube. But for him, the pressure is on him. People don't realize this... The pressure is on him. If he loses to me, all that he's been talking [and] everything, he's going to have to pay for it."

Watch the full interview below:

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Israel Adesanya is currently the -205 betting favorite against the +175 underdog Pereira.

Image courtesy @sportsbook.draftkings.com