Chael Sonnen weighs in on upcoming trilogy fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira: "When Pereira reaches out to touch something, he reaches out and touches something"
Chael Sonnen recently weighed in on the upcoming UFC 281 middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. According to the former UFC fighter, Adesanya is the highest level athlete that our sport has to offer today.
However, 'The American Gangster' also believes that Pereira is as good an athlete as Adesanya. While Sonnen isn't sure if 'Poatan' can parallel the champion in terms of rhythm and movement, he sees the Brazilian's explosiveness as a significant equalizer.
According to Sonnen, Pereira is not likely to miss out when he reaches for a target. The 45-year-old said on his YouTube channel:
"Pereira is right there in the athleticism realm with Adesanya... I don't find that he has the same rhythm but I do find that he has the same explosiveness. I don't know that he has the same setups in terms of the movement and rhythm. However, he doesn't throw airballs. When Pereira reaches out to touch something, he reaches out and touches something. And if the first punch missed, good for you, but there's gonna be three or four coming right behind it."
Catch Sonnen's comments below:
Adesanya vs Pereira https://t.co/K2YR19n3u3
Alex Pereira claims to have improved his kickboxing while Israel Adesanya was focused on MMA
Israel Adesanya has lost twice to Alex Pereira in kickboxing, once via knockout in 2017. 'The Last Stylebender' has undeniably come a long way since, having established himself as the undisputed king of the UFC middleweight division.
Meanwhile, Pereira has had only seven professional fights in his nascent MMA career so far. However, 'Poatan' claims to have been working on his kickboxing while Adeanya was focused on MMA.
Although Pereira has developed his MMA skills, it is kickboxing where he expects to have the edge over 'The Last Stylebender'. The Brazilian said in a recent interview with Helen Yee via a translator:
"Well, I think he [Israel Adesanya] got better. He evolved a lot in MMA. But, I evolved a lot in the MMA game too. Not only that, while he was focusing on the MMA game, I improved a lot in my kickboxing."
Watch Alex Pereira's full interview with Helen Yee below: