Israel Adesanya wouldn't be able to live down a fourth loss to Alex Pereira, says Darren Till
Darren Till has questioned whether or not a fourth fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira makes sense, considering that the former is 0-3 in the head-to-head.
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira faced off for the first time in MMA at UFC 281 for the middleweight title.The pair had fought twice previously as kickboxers, where 'Poatan' had walked away victorious on both occasions.
'The Last Stylebender' headed into the main event as the favorite due to his dominance as the 185-pound champ. However, the Brazilian's power proved to be the difference maker.
Deep into the fifth round and with Adesanya just minutes from a decision victory, the relentless pressure paid off for Pereira as he landed heavy shots on the Nigerian-New Zealander against the cage for the TKO victory.
Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya Highlights
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In an interview with MMA Junkie, Darren Till discussed the future of Israel Adesanya. According to the Liverpudlian, as much as it makes sense for Adesanya to have an immediate rematch, there's no way back after four losses in a row to the same person:
"Is a fourth fight worth it? Yeah I know you have to because Izzy was the champ for a long time and he was dominant, but Alex has beaten him three times. They're both strikers... I know I've lost a fight here and there but if you lose a fourth fight to the same person, I don't know. I'd love to speak to Izzy about it."
Catch Darren Till's interview here:
Dricus du Plessis weighs in on middleweight landscape after Israel Adesanya's loss to Alex Pereira
Dricus du Plessis believes the 185-pound division is wide open following Alex Pereira's victory over Israel Adesanya at UFC 281.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, du Plessis alluded to the middleweight division as having more opportunities due to Pereira still being relatively inexperienced in regards to MMA:
"Izzy was quite a decorated MMA striker. He had 13 or some odd [11 fights in MMA] when he signed with the UFC. He's had his MMA experience. Whereas Pereira came in with [3-1]... That's ridiculous."
Du Plessis then explained why former opponents of Israel Adesanya could be tough matchups for Alex Pereira, such as Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori:
"I do see more opportunities for guys in the division that have lost to Izzy beating Pereira. I think a guy like [Robert] Whittaker has the tools to beat a guy like Pereira where it seemed like Izzy was Whittaker's kryptonite. A guy like Marvin Vettori has more tools to beat Pereira."
Catch the full interview here: