Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira rematch leaves the middleweight division in utter jeopardy - Chael Sonnen explains why
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira are set to fight for the middleweight title at UFC 287 in April. Chael Sonnen believes that depending on the outcome of the fight, the 185-pound division could be set for a period of stagnation.
'The American Gangster' noted several factors that could contribute to a bottleneck in the race for a shot at the middleweight title.
Sonnen stated that despite Pereira beating Adesayna twice in kickboxing and once in MMA, he has agreed to fight 'The Last Stylebender' a fourth time. He speculated that an Adesanya victory at UFC 287 could lead to a fifth fight, which further holds up the division.
Pereira, despite being the 185-pound champion, is rumored to be looking to move to light heavyweight following UFC 287. If 'Poatan' is able to defeat Israel Adesanya again, he could vacate the title. Sonnen believes this could call into question the need for a fourth fight, as 'The American Gangster' believes that the better fighter has already been established.
Chael Sonnen broke down the matchup on his YouTube channel and said:
"Why are we here and what are we doing it for? The world championship? Okay, got it. Are we really gonna prove who's the best with this fight though?... I watched Adesanya prove he was the better fighter not once, twice, but three times."
"There is no scenario where Pereira stays at 185 [pounds] or wants to... He's just gonna leave the weight class, so why are these guys fighting? If Adesanya beats Pereira, and Pereira says, 'Hey that's rubbish let's do it again.' Don't we have to out of respect?"
Watch the video below from 5:50:
Israel Adesanya won't necessarily change any tactics ahead of rematch against Alex Pereira
Israel Adesanya has been defeated by Alex Pereira three times in combat sports. However, the one-sided score doesn't paint an accurate picture of the nature of their three fights.
'The Last Stylebender' was defeated by Pereira twice in kickboxing: first via a controversial decision and then via KO. Similar to their fight at UFC 281 in November, Pereira's KO at Glory Heroes 7 came in the knick of time as Adesanya was winning on the scorecards.
Israel Adesanya appeared in front of the media at UFC 284 last weekend to discuss whether he would change his game plan for their fourth fight:
"Just keep the same energy, 'cause I'm always beating him until I'm not. So I'll make sure I keep beating him the whole way through [this time]."
Watch the video below: