5 reasons why Alex Pereira will not repeat Israel Adesanya's success in the UFC
Few fighters ranked outside the top 15 in their UFC division have generated as much hype as Alex Pereira. A combat sports veteran with over 40 fights to his name, Pereira is a former kickboxing world champion now taking aim at an MMA title.
While he is not kickboxing's first export to MMA, his two kickboxing wins over current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya have garnered far more attention than others who transitioned into mixed martial arts.
Thus, both the fans and the UFC's interest in a trilogy rematch between Pereira and Adesanya shone a spotlight on the Brazilian phenom. However, due to the breadth of striking skill Pereira possesses, he might not meet the expectations many have of him.
While both he and Adesanya stem from the same kickboxing world, key differences in the subtleties of their respective striking styles might prevent Alex Pereira from replicating his rival's MMA success. This list explores those reasons in detail.
#5. Alex Pereira is more hittable
Many fighters have signature techniques. Conor McGregor has his straight left, Daniel Cormier is well-known for his high-crotch single-leg takedown, while Luke Rockhold uses a question mark kick. In a similar vein, Alex Pereira's signature technique is his lead left hook.
Often-times, the left hook is a knockout blow. Although it enables fighters to consistently hurt their opponents, left hooks are not without risk.
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First, to be in position to land a left hook, fighters must also be willing to put themselves in position to be countered by their opponent's left hook. The short arc of the punch means Pereira is always in position to be caught with a counter-left hook when attempting to land his own.
For this reason, Alex Pereira is likelier to sustain more damage in his MMA career than Adesanya because his striking style renders him more hittable.