Joe Rogan and Paul Felder talk about Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira 2
Israel Adesanya will look to extract his revenge and reclaim the UFC middleweight title when he faces Alex Pereira at UFC 287. UFC commentators Joe Rogan and Paul Felder discussed the upcoming title fight during the latter's recent appearance on episode #135 of The Joe Rogan Experience MMA Show.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 🏆
@AlexPereiraUFC is set to defend his MW throne against @Stylebender in your #UFC287 main event! https://t.co/HSYhfCkopw
Rogan began by discussing the peroneal nerve injury that limited Adesanya throughout UFC 281. The podcast host then shared that while he is interested in seeing what adjustments 'The Last Stylebender' makes at UFC 287, he is even more intrigued by seeing the current middleweight champion against someone with high-class wrestling ability. Felder responded:
"It's kind of working out perfectly for Alex where you get another shot. You get to go and face Israel again. That's the best matchup for you. You got a guy that is probably going to stand with you for as long as the fight lasts. When he's really going to get challenged is when he has somebody that's going to say, 'I'm going to grapple your a**, I'm gonna pressure you up against the fence'."
After looking at the scorecard, where Adesanya had a three round to one advantage, Rogan proclaimed that all he had to do was not get caught before adding:
"I'm very interested in the rematch. Very interested because you got to think, Izzy almost had him out in the first round. He almost had him out. If he can avoid getting that leg compromised like he did in the first round of that fight and so he's got his movement, and he also had some great moments grappling which surprised a lot of people."
While Adesanya has lost all three of his previous meetings with Pereira, two of which came in kickboxing, he has opened as the favorite for their UFC 287 title clash.
Israel Adesanya is the 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 in his rematch with Alex Pereira ✌️
(odds via @betonline_ag) 🏆 #UFC287 https://t.co/njyKPoblnl
Watch Joe Rogan and Paul Felder discuss Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira 2 below:
Check out the full episode of JRE MMA Show below:
Daniel Cormier speculates that Israel Adesanya may have accepted the Alex Pereira fight sooner than planned
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira will meet in the main event of UFC 287 in April. UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier believes that the former middleweight champion may have rushed to accept the fight due to his opponents' growing options. Speaking on his podcast, DC & RC, the former double champ stated:
"For me, it feels a little bit like maybe Izzy wasn't going to fight him now, but when his name started to ring bells in so many different areas, he goes, maybe it's now or maybe never because as you know many people feel like Alex is a vulnerable champion [due to his lack of wrestling]."
Cormier specifically mentioned a light heavyweight title bout with Jamahal Hill and a title defense against No.2-ranked middleweight Robert Whittaker as potential options for Pereira. Adesanya's dominant run as an active middleweight champion likely ensured he would receive an immediate rematch.
Watch Daniel Cormier discuss Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira below (starting at the 4:25 mark):