MMA fans get 'chills' after watching UFC 287 face-off between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira

Israel Adesanya is all set to face arch-nemesis Alex Pereira for the latter's UFC middleweight title at UFC 287 on April 8. Adesanya has already faced Pereira thrice in the combat sports realm, twice in kickboxing and once in MMA. 'Poatan' beat 'Izzy' via unanimous decision in 2016 and by third-round KO in 2017 in their kickboxing bouts.

Their MMA bout witnessed Pereira defeat Adesanya via fifth-round TKO to capture the UFC middleweight title at UFC 281 in November 2022. 'Izzy' subsequently vowed to reclaim his title and finally beat 'Poatan' when they clash at UFC 287.

The kickboxers-turned-MMA stars partook in an official face-off at the UFC 287 press conference earlier today. Many in the MMA community have given their thoughts on the event and have deemed it one of the greatest in UFC history.

One fan tweeted:

"This is one of the best face offs of all time"

Similarly, another fan alluded to how intense the face-off was and tweeted:

"THATS A SICK FACE OFF"

One Twitter user simply posted a subtle one-word reaction to the face-off:

"CHILLS"

Meanwhile, one user opined that Adesanya should win at UFC 287 so that fans get to see him fight Pereira in a trilogy bout in the UFC:

"Style Bender vs Poatan will go down as one of the greatest rivalries, I hope Izzy wins so we get a ufc trilogy"

This fan highlighted Pereira's intimidating staredown:

"Alex ain’t lay a eye off him , even after he was staring still"

Meanwhile, one Twitter user praised the Adesanya-Pereira face-off and speculated:

"Best face off in ufc history?"

Some fans rallied to support 'Izzy' while also acknowledging the danger Pereira poses:

"I want Izzy but Pierra dangerous"

Another fan highlighted how pivotal the fight is for Israel Adesanya, who's 0-3 against Alex Pereira thus far. Voicing their concerns for Adesanya, they wrote:

"Ima feel bad if he loses again"

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Israel Adesanya expresses his confidence ahead of his UFC 287 rematch against Alex Pereira

In a recent edition of ESPN MMA's DC & RC podcast, former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya emphasized that while he's been unable to beat Alex Pereira, the latter knows what he is capable of. Noting that he's always had closely-contested fights against Pereira, 'Izzy' stated:

"Each time I've fought him, I'm always winning until I'm not. If it was like say he just beat my ass from f**king bell to bell then f**k it. I'd probably still be this confident, I'd still talk s**t, but it's not been the case."

Israel Adesanya has consistently maintained that he's time and again come close to beating Alex Pereira only to lose in the end. Adesanya noted that this is what poses a real challenge to him. 'Izzy' indicated that he thrives in such challenging situations and will remind everyone of his greatness by finally defeating 'Poatan' at UFC 287.

Watch Adesanya's assessment at 51:15 in the video below: