Is Israel Adesanya deserving of immediate Alex Pereira title rematch? - Alexander Volkanovski weighs in
Alexander Volkanovski recently weighed in on whether teammate Israel Adesanya is deserving of an immediate rematch against Alex Pereira. Adesanya's 12-fight win streak in the UFC middleweight division, which included five successful title defenses, was snapped by 'Poatan' at UFC 281.
Speaking in an interview with Fox Sports Australia, Volkanovski claimed that Adesanya has done enough to deserve an instant rematch against Pereira:
"Of course. When you've been dominant for that long in that division, I think that [immediate rematch] has to happen. I think it will happen, especially given how that fight was going. It was a great fight as well. So people want to see that again, knowing that Izzy was ahead and got caught, just makes for a bigger rematch anyway.I think it's definetely deserved."
Watch the interview below:
At UFC 281, Israel Adesanya was seemingly ahead on the scorecards, having won three out of the first four rounds against 'Poatan'. The 33-year-old showcased several facets of his game, even dominating Pereira on the ground for the majority of the third round.
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#UFC281 Official Scorecard: @AlexPereiraUFC vs Israel Adesanya
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Unfortunately for Adesanya, he got caught in the fifth round and Pereira rallied to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Israel Adesanya is confident that Alexander Volkanovski will defeat Islam Makhachev
It was announced during the broadcast of UFC 281 that Alexander Volkanovski will challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight throne at UFC 284 on Feb. 11, 2023, in a fight that will determine the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
UFC 284 will take place in Volkanovski's home country of Australia. The event will go down at the RAC Arena in Perth.
Weighing in on the matchup in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Israel Adesanya claimed that Volkanovski has a character that distinguishes champions from regular athletes:
"He [Volkanovski] has got it. Alex is different, bro. And you can ask Jordi even [Jordan Sullivan of 'The Fight Dietitian']. He'll tell you he is different. The way he's just able to put it on people with the work he does to even cut weight. He's a different breed, like, that Michael Phelps-type different."
Catch Israel Adesanya's comments (3:15:32) below: