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Israel Adesanya has confirmed that he's open to fighting Alex Pereira in the future. Before dominating the UFC middleweight division, Adesanya was a high-level kickboxer who only lost five fights. Two of those losses came to Pereira.
Pereira left kickboxing in 2020 to pursue a full-time career in MMA, and he hasn't looked back since. 'Poatan' is now 2-0 in the UFC with wins over Andreas Michailidis and Bruno Silva. Both the Brazilian and Adesanya have fights on the UFC 276 fight card, which could lead to them being matched up later if they win their bouts.
During a video on his YouTube, Adesanya had this to say about fighting Pereira in MMA:
"They keep saying, oh it's too fast, it's too fast. I'm like they know what they're doing. They're pushing him so he can get that fight with me, and I'm like, cool. I welcome it. I look forward to this."
During the same YouTube video, 'The Last Stylebender' revealed his vision for the fight by saying:
"I don't think you understand how many times I've visualized this, and I know exactly what I'm gonna do as well. Even if the referee tries to take me off, I'm gonna tell him let me have my moment. This is my moment, and they can't take me off him. I'm gonna stand there and just own it."
Israel Adesanya will defend the middleweight title against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276. Meanwhile, Pereira will be fighting No.4-ranked middleweight Sean Strickland.
If both fighters win, the UFC could decide to escalate 'Poatan' to a title shot due to their history and lack of middleweight contenders.
Watch Israel Adesanya discuss a potential MMA fight against Alex Pereira below:
Israel Adesanya breaks down losses to Alex Pereira
Adesanya's second loss to Pereira led to a brutal knockout that haters tend to use a lot on social media. Yet, the UFC middleweight champion wanted to clarify that he found success throughout their fights.
During the same YouTube video, Adesanya had this to say about his kickboxing fights with Pereira:
"First-round I whooped his ass. In the second round, I had him on skates. Third time he came back and beat me."
Although Pereira has beaten Adesanya twice in kickboxing, MMA is a different challenge. The Brazilian has limited experience in the octagon, and the champion could expose that. Before discussing a rematch in MMA, both fighters need to win at UFC 276 on July 2.
Do check out this fun video made by Sportskeeda:
