Paulo Costa previews a possible rematch between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya – "He is not so durable"

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Alex Pereira (left), Paulo Costa (center), and Israel Adesanya (right). [via Getty Images]
Alex Pereira (left), Paulo Costa (center), and Israel Adesanya (right) [Getty Images]

Alex Pereira ended Israel Adesanya's three-year-long middleweight reign at UFC 281.

The Brazilian earned his third combat sports victory against Adesanya by knocking him out in the final round of their championship bout after weathering four rounds against 'The Last Stylebender'.

Israel Adesanya's dominance in the division is unprecedented and only matched by former middleweight champion Anderson Silva. On the basis of his incredible run at middleweight, it has been suggested that 'Izzy' deserves an immediate rematch for the belt.

Pereira's compatriot and fellow middleweight Paulo Costa opined on how a potential rematch will play out between the two. He spoke in an interview with Submission Radio wherein he pointed out that the former champion is not as resilient as 'Poatan':

"Adesanya has a problem to get hit. I think he's not so durable [as] some other guys. Alex [Pereira] is durable but Adesanya is not too much. So Adesanya did very well avoiding Alex for almost five rounds but he, you know, he could not avoid him to the end. You know, keep the distance until the end. So he was caught. Ah man, I don't have a prediction for if they rematch, I don't have."

Watch Paulo Costa's full interview with Submission Radio on YouTube:

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Alexander Volkanovski believes Israel Adesanya deserves an immediate rematch against Alex Pereira

Israel Adesanya's City Kickboxing teammate Alexander Volkanovski is in favor of an immediate rematch between the two middleweights.

In an interview with Fox Sports Australia, the featherweight champion gave his take on a fourth combat sports meeting between the two fighters. He mentioned 'The Last Stylebender's incredible record in the division as reason enough to warrant an immediate rematch:

"When you've been dominant for that long in that division, I think that [immediate rematch] has to happen. I think it will happen, especially given how that fight was going... Knowing that Izzy was ahead and got caught, just makes for a bigger rematch anyway."

Volkanovski himself is gearing up for a lightweight bout against Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 on his home turf in Perth, Australia. The fight will take place in February next year and will be Makhachev's first title defense.

Watch Alexander Volkanovski's full interview with Fox Sports Australia on YouTube:

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