"You have to fight fire with fire" - Michael Bisping explains why "killer" Alex Pereira will ensure Israel Adesanya's next fight isn't boring
Michael Bisping recently shared his take on the middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira at UFC 281.
Adesanya and Pereira will headline the pay-per-view at Madison Square Garden on November 12. The main event will mark the third fight between the duo as they have previously collided twice in kickboxing. 'Poatan' won both of those fights, with his latest win over 'The Last Stylebender' being a knockout.
While previewing the much-anticipated title fight at UFC 281, 'The Count' noted that Pereira is a very aggressive fighter, more so than the middleweight champion. With that in mind, Bisping believes that Adesanya will have to meet his opponent with the same sort of intensity, as he explained during a video uploaded to his YouTube channel:
"The way Alex Pereira fights, he's a killer. When he fought Israel Adesanya, he goes forward, he's very, very aggressive. More aggressive than Izzy. So, you have to fight fire with fire. Izzy has been around the UFC for a long time and he's got better. Since he came into the UFC, he's done nothing but improve. Alex Pereira's coming into this one, of course, he's gonna be very confident. He's got two wins over the man and the last one was a knockout."
The former middleweight champion added that the fight will essentially be a rematch of their previous kickboxing contests. He doesn't expect either man to go for a takedown on November 12.
"This essentially gonna be a third rematch of a kickboxing fight. I don't think either man is gonna go for a takedown. I really don't."
Watch Michael Bisping talk about Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira in the video below:
Israel Adesanya dismisses claim Alex Pereira is being fast-tracked
Prior to UFC 276, Israel Adesanya said that he was eager to have a third fight versus Alex Pereira booked.
During a press conference, 'The Last Stylebender' dismissed the claim that 'Poatan' is being fast-tracked to a title shot by the promotion, noting that Jiri Prochazka recently won the title in just his third UFC fight. 'The Last Stylebender' further pointed to Anderson Silva's quick rise to the gold.
"I don't like this narrative of like, 'Oh it's too quick for [Alex Pereira].' But look, Jiri [Prochazka] just fought for the belt and won the belt in his third fight in the UFC. I think Anderson [Silva] did it in the second fight."
Watch the press conference below: