Israel Adesanya receives high praise from former rival for his gameplan against Alex Pereira
More than anyone, Robert Whittaker understands the position that Israel Adesanya found himself in ahead of UFC 287. 'The Reaper' is a former middleweight kingpin who suffered a title loss against 'The Last Stylebender' in emphatic fashion. Despite his adjustments in their rematch, he still tasted defeat.
Thus, the task that Israel Adesanya faced in his fourth combat sports fight against the power-punching Alex Pereira was one that the Australian is familiar with. Prior to their clash, the Nigerian-New Zealander had suffered three defeats against 'Poatan', with two losses in kickboxing and one in MMA.
Ahead of their fourth bout, Adesanya was in desperate need of an adjustment. This is something Whittaker can sympathize with, needing a stylistic adjustment against a rival who dethroned him and just seems to have his number. But at UFC 287, Adesanya broke the cycle.
He made Pereira pay for lengthening his combinations along the fence. After sandwiching 'The Last Stylebender' between himself and the fence, 'Poatan' tried to land two left hooks in quick succession. Unfortunately, hooks are high-risk, high-reward moves.
To land a left hook, a fighter must also stand close enough to be countered by their opponent's hook. On the latest MMArcade Podcast, Robert Whittaker praised Israel Adesanya for countering Pereira's left hook with a right hook:
"Adesanya, I gotta give it to him because I'm sure he studied and he researched and he practiced, chereographed that one movement, that one scenario where he's playing rope-a-dope on the fence, sees that Pereira starts stringing more than two-three combos together and he hits him with a hook. Because Pereira has his hands down when he's throwing volumes higher than two-three."
Catch the full podcast episode below:
Robert Whittaker's history with Israel Adesanya
Prior to Alex Pereira's rise up the MMA rankings, Robert Whittaker was Israel Adesanya's chief rival in mixed martial arts. The pair have crossed swords twice now.
During their first encounter four years ago, 'The Reaper' was the reigning middleweight champion.
Israel Adesanya lands a knee on Robert Whittaker (Houston, 2022)
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Meanwhile, 'The Last Stylebender' was an exciting contender hoping to enthrone himself as the undisputed king of the 185lbers. Their showdown at UFC 243 ended with an emphatic knockout win for Adesanya.
The two men later clashed in a rematch at UFC 271. This time, their bout was more closely contested, with some fans and analysts believing that Whittaker did enough to earn the nod. Although he still lost, he now hopes to earn a trilogy bout.