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Alex Pereira is already 2-0 against Israel Adesanya outside of the UFC, and if he beats Sean Strickland at UFC 276 he could get a chance to face 'The Last Stylebender' in the octagon.
Israel Adesanya is set to defend his middleweight title against Jared Cannonier on the same card, and whoever wins will reportedly face the winner of Pereira vs. Strickland next. That's according to Alex Pereira's manager, who told the Trocacao Franca podcast:
“It’s already agreed, the decision has been made.Whoever wins the fight between Sean Strickland and Alex will face the winner of Jared Cannonier and ‘Izzy,’ Israel Adesanya. It’s a deal.”
Pereira is currently just 2-0 in the UFC, but entered the promotion with a 33-7 kickboxing record and two GLORY championship belts. More importantly, he holds two wins over Israel Adesanya from 2016 and 2017: a decision win and a nasty third round knockout. That defeat was Adesanya's last bout in kickboxing. One year later 'The Last Stylebender' made his UFC debut.
Israel Adesanya's coach believes Alex Pereira needs to "do more work" before a title shot
While the UFC may have promised Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland a No. 1 contender spot with a win, that doesn't mean Israel Adesanya's team has agreed to a fight with Pereira.
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman suggested Pereira's resume in the UFC was still too thin for a shot at the belt. He said:
"It would be nice for Strickland to win, because Strickland’s body of work is good enough to fight for a title. Whereas if Pereira wins, he’s still got to do more work."
"I don’t have a deep-seeded need to go and fight Pereira and get revenge, if that’s what you’re saying. Maybe Israel does. For him, I don’t think he does. I don’t think it concerns him at all. I think Pereira’s just another fighter trying to make his way to the champion, who’s beat the champion in a completely different sport. I just don’t think Israel even thinks about it too hard. I definitely don’t."
Watch Eugene Bareman discuss Alex Pereira as a contender below:
It's worth noting that Bareman often said similar things about Robert Whittaker leading into his rematch against Israel Adesanya. Whether the City Kickboxing coach really believes Adesanya's contenders are unworthy or it's just a form of mental warfare, his statements don't seem to stop title matches from being signed in the end.
