Fans react to Israel Adesanya surprisingly opening as favorite in potential rematch with Alex Pereira: "If Izzy wrestles him it’s the easiest win of his career"
Israel Adesanya's dominant middleweight title reign ended with a TKO loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 281 on Saturday night. Despite this being Adesanya's third loss against Pereira across professional combat sports, 'The Last Stylebender' has opened as a favorite in a potential rematch.
Israel Adesanya opens as the favorite in a rematch with Alex Pereira:
Israel Adesanya -150 (2/3)
Alex Pereira +130 (13/10)
(odds via @betonline_ag) 🏆 https://t.co/cOmV4Rj4Of
Adesanya opened as a slight -150 favorite as opposed to Pereira's +130 underdog status. Fight fans have varying opinions about the former champion opening as favorite against someone who has knocked him out twice.
Prior to his fifth-round TKO win, Pereira was losing the fight on the scorecards and was thoroughly outgrappled by Adesanya in the third round. Some fans find the odds justified considering the flaws that have been exposed in Pereira's ground game. One fan wrote:
"If Izzy wrestles him it’s the easiest win of his career. Alex is debatably the best striker in the division, but that’s quite literally all he has. There’s a reason Alex avoided every grappler in the division and just fought guys who’d stand up with him."
@SandhuMMA @MMAHistoryToday @betonline_ag If Izzy wrestles him it’s the easiest win of his career. Alex is debatably the best striker in the division, but that’s quite literally all he has. There’s a reason Alex avoided every grappler in the division and just fought guys who’d stand up with him.
However, others believe Adesanya, who isn't a conventional wrestler, won't have a field day grappling with Pereira, considering the evident size difference between the two:
"Izzy would eventually gas grappling , not used to it and against much bigger man"
@YouG0t2BKitten @SandhuMMA @MMAHistoryToday @betonline_ag Izzy would eventually gas grappling , not used to it and against much bigger man
Check out more reactions below:
@SandhuMMA @betonline_ag the guy that’s 3-0 in this matchup is the underdog? lol oki
@countchristiann @SandhuMMA @betonline_ag did u actually watch the fight? izzy was winning and nearly finished him in the 1st alex was saved by the bell he caught izzy in the 5th izzy is the better fighter skill wise but alex just has the power advantage
@SandhuMMA @betonline_ag Dude lost 3 times and been stopped twice how is he the favorite
@SandhuMMA @betonline_ag Well izzy fought even better than we thought, he proved that as long as he dont get Ko'd (which is hard because he has a great chin) he wins by decision
♂️@SandhuMMA @betonline_ag By next time Alex will be even better at defending take downs so this time he will knock him out Mr Hit & Run in 2nd round. 🏃♂️
@SandhuMMA @betonline_ag I’ll take the guy that’s 3-0
@SandhuMMA @betonline_ag Has any other fighter in history ever been 0-3 yet still the betting favourite for a 4th fight??
Dana White hasn't ruled out an immediate title rematch between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira
Israel Adesanya almost finished Alex Pereira in the closing seconds of the first round of their UFC 281 clash. 'The Last Stylebener' even controlled the Brazilian on the ground for the majority of the third round and was on his way to an emphatic decision win before being TKO'd in the last round.
Adesanya even had his winning moments in his two previous kickboxing losses to Pereira. Many believe the Kiwi was robbed of a decision in the first clash and was outpointing 'Poatan' before being knocked out cold in the rematch.
Despite the scales heavily tilting towards Pereira, Dana White didn't rule out an immediate title rematch for Adesanya. The UFC president said at the UFC 281 post-fight presser:
“In a fight that most guys would stall, ‘Give me more time. Give me this, that,’ he dove right into this fight. His only loss was when he tried to move up in weight to 205. You’ve got to respect him as champ and what he’s done. I wouldn’t rule [an immediate rematch] out.”
Watch Dana White discuss Israel Adesanya's future below: