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Alex Pereira is the only man in the world who can say he has knocked out Israel Adesanya. At this point, it's fairly common knowledge amongst avid MMA fans, but for the uninitiated, Pereira has two wins over Adesanya in kickboxing - one via decision and one via KO.
'The Last Stylebender' crossed over to MMA soon after and took over the UFC's middleweight division, where he still reigns supreme. Pereira recently made the jump to mixed martial arts and, within just three UFC fights, finds himself on the cusp of gold. After beating No.4-ranked Sean Strickland at UFC 276, 'Poatan' earned himself a title shot against his former foe. The two will fight in the main event of UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Alex Pereira is one of the most dangerous kickboxers in the world and possesses dynamite in his hands and legs. While speaking to former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum on the Nem Me Viu podcast, the Brazilian discussed his amateur fighting days:
"I started in kickboxing. I trained for a year, it was basic training. So I debuted in Sao Paulo Open and was the champion... I have 28 amateur kickboxing fights. I won 25 of them via knockout."
Pereira stated that he believes he won the three bouts he lost in his amateur career. He also pointed out that friends and family helped his source funds to be able to compete in these competitions and pursue his dream. Speaking about making the jump from amateur to pro, 'Poatan' said he was clueless about fighting for more than a couple of minutes:
"So I made my professional debut, right? It was in 2011... in amateur, it's 3 rounds of 2 minutes. It's not 3, because in professional it's 3 minutes. In amateur, 2 minutes. And all the fights I won were in the first round, in less than 2 minutes. All via first-round knockout. So I didn't know what it was like to fight for more than 2 minutes." [h/t Brazilian MMA Legends on YouTube]
Watch Alex Pereira discuss his amateur fights in the clip below:
Alex Pereira is confident he will hurt Israel Adesanya in their title fight
The Nigerian-born Kiwi has been under fire lately for his calculated fighting style that sees him win comfortable decisions but doesn't excite the fans. In his last three fights, Adesanya has scored decision victories over Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker, and Jared Cannonier.
Many have been wondering if 'The Last Stylebender' can put an end to the criticism and entertain fans in his next outing. Alex Pereira is confident that he will make Israel Adesanya engage with him. Speaking to Super Lutas, 'Poatan' said:
“I can tell you that it will be impossible for him not to engage, if he’s within my reach I will hurt him. 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.”
The Brazilian went on to state that the middleweight champion tends to throw a lot of kicks, and he believes that he has the answer for the Kiwi's offense.
Watch Alex Pereira talk about it in the clip below:
