Former middleweight title challenger believes Alex Pereira will beat Israel Adesanya yet again if they fight
Israel Adesanya's dominant middleweight title reign was ended by Alex Pereira with a last-round TKO win at UFC 281 in November. This also marked Adesanya's third loss against Pereira in as many outings, of which two were in kickboxing.
Despite going 0-3 against 'Poatan', Israel Adesanya's stellar record makes him deserving of an immediate title shot. However, former middleweight title challenger Marvin Vettori believes 'The Last Stylebender' will lose to Pereira yet again if they fight.
'The Italian Dream', who dropped a title shot against Israel Adesanya in 2021, recently told The Schmo:
"No no, if they fight with Izzy again, he'll beat Izzy again. I don't know, I feel like he [Pereira] had a mission on beating him [Adesanya] and then now he doesn't really even... I mean of course he cares cause everybody cares about money. But he knows it's like risky to fight anybody that has real good grappling. But I don't mind him, I like him. If I have a chance to fight him, definitely I wanna fight him."
Watch the full interview below:
Marvin Vettori is coming off a unanimous decision loss against Robert Whittaker in September. Vettori believes 'Bobby Knuckles' is deserving of a title shot against Pereira and can get the job gone.
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Another UFC middleweight believes Israel Adesanya is a tougher fight than Alex Pereira
Israel Adesanya justified his favorite status by almost knocking out Alex Pereira at the end of the first round of their UFC 281 clash. While Pereira seemingly bounced back in round 2, 'The Last Stylebender' went on to dominate rounds 3 and 4. Although 'Poatan' eventually got his hands raised, a finish was imperative for him going into the final frame.
Hence, middleweight prospect Punahele Soriano might be somewhat justified in labeling Adesanya a tougher fight than Pereira. While he had no intention of offending 'Poatan', Soriano believes Adesanya's dominance on the ground in rounds 3 and 4 firmly establishes him as the harder fight. 'Puna' said in a recent interview with MMA Junkie:
“I still feel like Izzy’s the way harder fight than Alex. Just from that portion where Izzy held him down, I felt like that made him the easier fight. But he’s got the nuclear option as well, which is super scary. But I still think Izzy’s way harder of a fight than Alex. And no offense. I don’t want Alex to be mad at me and smash me on the streets for some reason.”
Watch Soriano's comments below: