"Israel was right" - Henry Cejudo admits to changing his perspective regarding Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira after fully analyzing previous kickboxing fights
Henry Cejudo recently admitted that Israel Adesanya's assessment on his previous bouts with Alex Pereira was correct.
Israel Adesanya is set to defend his middleweight belt against Alex Pereira, his former kickboxing rival, at UFC 281. 'The Last Stylebender' lost both kickboxing meetings against the No.4-ranked middleweight, but claimed that the fights were closer than the results.
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@Stylebender vs Alex Pereira is confirmed for #UFC281!
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During the latest episode of his Fight Feedback segment, Henry Cejudo analyzed the kickboxing fights between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. After watching the first fight, the former double champ stated:
"Watching this fight, it was a lot closer and Israel was right. Watching it now, first hand, he did lose this fight, and it's because of this man and what he did towards the end of the second, but yeah, Israel did win the third, but that first round was all Pereira."
Cejudo would go on to watch the second fight and added:
"Looking at this fight, I think my perspectives have changed from actually watching it and I do believe Israel has more of a chance now, but if you really analyze and pinpoint that fight - who is it that's going to be the aggressor in that fight is the person that's more likely going to win. When Israel was bringing the fight, he had more success."
While Cejudo had previously predicted that Pereira would claim the middleweight belt, watching the fight changed his perspective. He noted that Pereira looked tired towards the end of their fight, while Adesanya did not. Ultimately, he shared that he believes the more aggressive fighter will emerge victorious as neither fighter is at their best fighting backwards.
Watch Henry Cejudo break down both kickboxing fights between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira below:
Henry Cejudo previously shared why he doesn't like Israel Adesanya
Henry Cejudo has seemed to be playing against Israel Adesanya lately. During a recent YouTube Q&A titled Ask C Anything, he shared the reason behind his dislike for the middleweight while predicting a potential matchup between Adesanya and Jon Jones.
Cejudo initially chose Jones as the victor, claiming that he would kill Adesanya if given the chance due to his strong dislike for the No.2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter. Cejudo went on to add that a comment made towards Jones by Adesanya turned him against 'Izzy' as well:
"The reason why I kind of started not becoming a fan of Israel is just because of the simple fact he talked about his mom who is deceased. To me, that was just a deal breaker."
My pops already told me how I’d beat you. Trust me he knows.
Your mom would be disappointed in who you’ve become. twitter.com/JonnyBones/sta…
Watch Henry Cejudo's comments on Israel Adesanya and Jon Jones below (starting at the 10:42 mark):