"He was just getting tagged" - Israel Adesanya's teammate 'Blood Diamond' confident Alex Pereira fight will play out differently this time
Israel Adesanya will most likely face former kickboxing foe Alex Pereira for his next UFC middleweight title defense. Adesanya's teammate Mike Mathetha aka 'Blood Diamond' believes the Kiwi's UFC title fight against Pereira will play out differently than their kickboxing bouts.
Pereira ended Adesanya's 12-fight win streak with a unanimous decision win in 2016 and became the only fighter to knock out 'The Last Stylebender' in the rematch that followed. Mathetha noted that 'Poatan' was getting outclassed by Adesanya before he got knocked out in the second fight.
According to 'Blood Diamond', Pereira won't be able to eat Adesanya's shots by simply blocking them with MMA gloves. The UFC newcomer recently told John Hyon Ko of The AllStar:
"We keep on seeing the highlight of Alex knocking Izzy out. I mean, yeah it is part of it, yeah. But like, throughout the whole fight he was just getting tagged. And I mean the difference now is they've got smaller gloves, you know?! Alex won't be able to just keep his hands up and block every punch that's coming through. So that's gonna be a bit different. And again, it's MMA. People underestimate Israel's skills in MMA. I train with the guy. I have noticed a lot of things he does which people have not seen yet."
Watch Mathetha's interview with The AllStar below:
'Blood Diamond' suffered a first-round submission loss against Jeremian Wells in his UFC debut in February. The Zimbabwean is now scheduled to face Orion Cosce at UFC 277.
Alex Pereira says that MMA gloves should be a cause of
concern for Israel Adesanya
MMA gloves seem to be an important factor in the trash talk building up between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. Speaking of a potential bout against 'Poatan', Adesanya initially noted that the four-ounce MMA gloves are not like the 'big-pillow gloves' used in kickboxing.
Pereira was confused with Adesanya's statement and claimed that his knockout power should be even more concerning for the middleweight champion with MMA gloves. The Brazilian said during the UFC 276 media-day:
"Well [Adesanya’s comments] actually makes me confused. Because with those two fights and the knockout, he actually claimed [the gloves] to be a pillow, but now we talk about four-ounce gloves. It is a deadly weapon, but if the big pillows already make him leave on the stretcher with an [oxygen] balloon on him, imagine what’s going to happen with four-ounce [gloves].”
Watch Pereira's appearance at the UFC 276 media day below: