"I’m riding with him all day" - When Jon Jones predicted Alex Pereira to beat "glossy fingernails" Israel Adesanya

Before Israel Adesanya's bout against Alex Pereira was officially announced, Jon Jones had already picked his winner for the fight. 'Bones' favors Pereira, stating on Twitter that the Brazilian made his bout against Sean Strickland at UFC 276 look easy. The former UFC light heavyweight champion also took a dig at Adesanya's nails, with the Nigerian-born middleweight champion often painting them before his UFC fights.

While posting on Twitter, Jones mentioned how easily Pereira managed to beat Sean Strickland. 'Bones' also couldn't believe that the Brazilian was unranked before facing Strickland:

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"Bro I just went back and watched Alex P fight!! Yeah I’m riding with him all day. He made it look way too easy. Really hard to believe he was unranked before this fight."

BONY

@JonnyBones

Bro I just went back and watched Alex P fight!! Yeah I’m riding with him all day. He made it look way too easy. Really hard to believe he was unranked before this fight

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Bro I just went back and watched Alex P fight!! Yeah I’m riding with him all day. He made it look way too easy. Really hard to believe he was unranked before this fight

Jon Jones then continued to criticize 'The Last Stylebender'. He laughed at Adesanya's "glossy fingernails" and "Frozen reference" when trying to intimidate Pereira at the UFC 276 press conference:

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"Bro I can’t stop thinking about this shit. How are you going to threaten a guy like Alex with glossy fingernails and a frozen reference. I’m over here scratching my head."

BONY

@JonnyBones

Bro I can’t stop thinking about this shit. How are you going to threaten a guy like Alex with glossy fingernails and a frozen reference. I’m over here scratching my head.

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Bro I can’t stop thinking about this shit. How are you going to threaten a guy like Alex with glossy fingernails and a frozen reference. I’m over here scratching my head. 😆😩

Israel Adesanya is now set to face Alex Pereira at UFC 281 in November. The bout is highly anticipated, with the two fighters having a history while competing in professional kickboxing. The Brazilian managed to beat 'The Last Stylebender' twice, even winning via knockout in their second bout. The UFC middleweight champion never beat Pereira under kickboxing rules.

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Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira: Height, reach, weight and UFC record comparison

Now that Israel Adesanya is officially scheduled to fight his old kickboxing foe Alex Pereira, we can take a look at how the two fighters compare in size and UFC record.

Both fighters stand 194cm tall and also have the exact same length in reach – 203cm. When last weighing-in, 'Poatan' came in 1lbs heavier than his 183.5lbs opponent, but it's unlikely that the bout will become a wrestling match, so weight shouldn't be too big of a factor.

Watch Adesanya talk about the upcoming bout and previous fights here:

Israel Adesanya obviously has a much more extensive UFC record, fighting in the organization 13 times and losing just once during these appearances. Adesanya lost to Jan Blachowicz in 2021 while attempting to become a two-weight world champion and when making the jump up to light heavyweight.

Alex Pereira has fought just three times in the UFC, but has remained unbeaten during his time in the organization. The Brazilian managed to beat Sean Strickland via a spectacular knockout in his last outing and has only lost once in his professional MMA career. Quemuel Ottoni managed to beat 'Poatan' via submission in Pereira's professional MMA debut back in 2015.

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