Watch: Footage from UFC 276 press conference reveals Israel Adesanya was first to look away after stare-off with Alex Pereira
UFC 276 was an important juncture in the narrative of a future fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. While 'The Last Stylebender' was scheduled to fight Jared Cannonier in the main event, Pereira faced the biggest challenge of his MMA career against Sean Strickland.
The former kickboxing rivals crossed paths for the first time at the press conference of UFC 276 since Glory of Heroes 7. The banter between Adesanya and Strickland thoroughly entertained the fans in attendance. However, an unseen stare-off between the UFC middleweight champion and 'Poatan' from the press conference has now surfaced on the internet.
Sean Strickland believes Alex Pereira is better striker than Israel Adesanya – do you agree? 🤔 #UFC276 https://t.co/qu7F6SWPaT
Several fans were convinced after watching the video that Pereira outfaced Adesanya. While both fighters locked eyes, trying to size each other up, Adesanya was the first to look away.
Watch the fan edit of the clip below:
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Seldom does it occur that a rivalry outside the construct of the UFC manages to traverse into the grand stage of the world's premier MMA organization. 'Poatan' held two significant victories over Israel Adesanya in kickboxing, which also included a vicious knockout. It is beyond a shadow of doubt that fight fans are heavily invested in the buildup to the event and eagerly waiting for the combatants to throw down at UFC 281 this weekend.
Israel Adesanya believes "not staying true to his style" cost him the rematch against Alex Pereira
Israel Adesanya's last fight in the kickboxing ring was against Alex Pereira at Glory of Heroes 7. 'Poatan' had already defeated Adesanya at Glory of Heroes 1 by unanimous decision.
While the MMA community was quick to remind 'The Last Stylebender' of the vicious knockout loss he suffered at the hands of Pereira in their rematch, Adesanya often urged fans to watch the fight before that moment to evaluate the fight as a whole.
In one particular moment of the fight, which was held on Pereira's home turf in Brazil, Adesanya rocked his Brazilian rival with sharp combos, forcing a standing eight-second count from the referee.
Pereira received a standing 8-count from the referee before knocking Izzy out cold
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Despite being all over Pereira, Israel Adesanya went on to lose the fight in the third round. Speaking about what went wrong in the fight on his YouTube channel, he said:
“In that moment, I got too hungry and then I blew my load a little bit. In the third round, he did his work, and I’ve given him thumbs up for that. He came in ready, walking me down, throwing, throwing, and then went boom, caught me, and that was all she wrote.”
Adesanya added:
“That was me not staying true to my style. I know how to touch this guy bad. I know how to vary my attacks, and I know how to fight properly. I might just jab and leg kick him.”
Watch the full video below: