Jason Wilnis, the only man to beat both Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira, picks winner of UFC 281 title clash
Former Glory middleweight champion Jason Wilnis, who holds a victory over both Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira, has picked his winner for UFC 281's main event.
Wilnis recently made the switch from kickboxing to MMA and is currently competing for Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). The 31-year-old is 2-2 since making the switch and has fought all four of his fights so far within the past year. The Dutchman won his first two bouts via TKO and decision, but is now on a two-fight skid.
Jason Wilnis, or as the MMA World will know him:
'The guy that beat the guy that beat Israel Adesanya twice twice.' twitter.com/KickpunchP/sta…
Wilnis holds an impressive resume as a kickboxer and is the only man to have defeated both Adesanya and Pereira while they all competed for Glory. Having experienced fighting them both, Jason Wilnis sat down with TMZ Sports and cast his predictions for tonight's middleweight title clash:
"It's hard to say man. If I go for experience you know, Israel Adesanya got that experience and he got the smarter moves. If I go for the hunger, the hunger and the beast, Alex Pereira is very hungry. It's difficult to say. I wouldn't just throw my money on Adesanya. If I had to say, I'd say Pereira man. For the hunger, for the hunger."
Catch the full interview with TMZ Sports here:
Alex Pereira reveals his approach to fighting Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title
UFC 281's main event pits longtime rivals Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira against one another for the 185lbs strap.
The pair's history dates back to their time as professional kickboxers. 'The Last Stylebender' and 'Potan' fought twice, with the Brazilian having his hand raised on both occasions.
In the first bout, which took place in 2016, Pereira was given the nod by the judges, although many considered the result contentious and felt Adesanya had done enough to win. The second bout was much more telling, however, as 'Poatan' landed a flush left hook to knock out 'Izzy'. It remains the only time Adesanya has been finished during his fighting career.
During UFC 281's press conference, Pereira was asked how he's approaching his first UFC title fight. The Brazilian explained that he's treating it as though it's the first time he and the champion have fought:
"I know Israel Adesanya's talking a lot. I have trained a lot to be in this moment. Adesanya's talking a lot about me... We're talking about MMA. We all know what happened in the last two fights. I forgot about him and I hope you forgot as well. I'm going to fight him like it was the first time I was fighting in my life."
Catch the full presser here: