Alex Pereira vs Israel Adesanya 2 Preview & Picks
Israel Adesanya is tipped to regain the UFC middleweight champion.
Adesanya was leading comfortably on the scorecards when he was knocked out in the last meeting.
He has shown he can outstrike Pereira over five rounds, and on this occasion we are backing him to avoid a knockout blow.
- Israel Adesanya is 12-1 in the UFC middleweight division
- Adesanya led 3-1 on the scorecards when he was KO’d in his last fight
- 4 of Adesanya’s last 5 fights have gone the distance
- 6 of Israel Adesanya’s last 8 wins have come by decision
Head To Head
- Alex Pereira is 1-0 in MMA fights vs Israel Adesanya
- Alex Pereira won by 5th round TKO when they last met in November 2022
- Alex Pereira is also 2-0 in kickboxing fights vs Israel Adesanya
Alex Pereira Form
Alex Pereira is the UFC middleweight record and has a professional MMA record of 7-1 (6 KOs).
Pereira lost his MMA debut back in October 2015, but rebounded to win his next three fights and land a UFC deal.
He knocked out Andreas Michailidis in the second round of his debut fight back in November 2021.
The 35-year-old Brazilian then earned a unanimous decision win against Bruno Silva, before knocking out Sean Strickland in the 2:36.
That earned Pereira a shot at the middleweight title and Israel Adesanya – a man who he had beaten twice in the kickboxing ranks, once by knock out and once by decision.
He took his shot, knocking out ‘The Last Stylebender’ in the final round as he trailed on the scorecards.
Israel Adesanya Form
Israel Adesanya is a former UFC middleweight champion with a 23-2 professional record (15 KO/TKOs, 8 Subs).
Adesanya won his first five fights to surge into title contention, and he became interim champion in April 2019 when he beat Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision.
He then unified the division in October 2019 when he knocked out Robert Whittaker in the second round in Australia.
‘The Last Stylebender’ made a successful first defence with a unanimous decision win against Yoel Romero, and he then followed that up with a second-round TKO win over Paulo Costa.
Adesanya then stepped up to light-heavyweight to challenge for the title, but his bid to become a two-weight champion ended in disappointment as he dropped a decision to Jan Blachowicz.
He immediately returned to middleweight after that fight and picked up from where he had left off.
The 33-year-old New Zealander rattled off three more successful defences, beating Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision.
Adesanya’s reign came to an end in November 2022, as he was knocked out in the fifth round by a long-time rival from his kickboxing days, Alex Pereira.