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Daniel Cormier believes that Israel Adesanya likely has a mental hurdle against Alex Pereira because of his previous losses against him. Pereira defeated Adesanya via unanimous decision in their first encounter in 2016 and via third-round KO in their rematch in 2017. Both fights were kickboxing bouts.
Earlier this month, Pereira challenged then-UFC middleweight champion Adesanya for his title in an MMA bout at UFC 281. 'Izzy' almost finished Pereira in round one, and he was seemingly en route to a win on the judges' scorecards heading into the fifth and final round. Nevertheless, Pereira rallied and KO'd 'Izzy' in round five to become the new UFC middleweight champion.
In a video posted to his YouTube channel, MMA legend Daniel Cormier opined that Israel Adesanya's past losses at the hands of 'Poatan' in kickboxing probably affected him in their UFC clash. Cormier stated:
"Every time he [Pereira] hit him, you could see the damage that he inflicted on Adesanya. And I don't know if it's like some sort of mental hold-up that 'Izzy' has with this guy because this guy's beaten him a couple of times. But he didn't respond well to the shots when Pereira was hitting him. He didn't respond well. It was almost like he froze every single time he got hit by this guy."
Moreover, 'DC' expressed his appreciation for Alex Pereira. He also alluded to the fact that former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker recently acknowledged how massive 'Poatan' is for their weight class. Cormier said:
"I think that speaks to who Alex is. Alex is a massive dude, and Robert Whittaker even spoke so much."
Watch Cormier discuss the topic at 4:07 in the video below:
Jiri Prochazka on how Israel Adesanya could beat Alex Pereira in a potential UFC rematch
In a recent interview with The Schmo, reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka put forth his take regarding how Israel Adesanya could defeat Alex Pereira in a possible rematch inside the octagon. Outlining Adesanya's path to victory, 'BJP' harked back to his own back-and-forth title matchup against Glover Teixeira that transpired in June.
Jiri Prochazka indicated that despite almost getting finished at the beginning of the fifth and final round, he submitted Glover Teixeira towards the end. He also cited Leon Edwards' last-minute finish of Kamaru Usman in their UFC welterweight title matchup and Alex Pereira's last-round win over Israel Adesanya.
On that note, 'BJP' advised Adesanya to fight relentlessly until the very end. Prochazka explained:
"You [Israel Adesanya] have to go till the end. Like in my fights, my last fight. That was what [won] me the fight. You have to go till the last second."
Watch Prochazka's assessment below:
