Adesanya is among the few competitors more qualified to evaluate Pereira’s prospects of winning another UFC championship. Before facing off against Pereira at UFC 281 and losing the middleweight title by fifth-round stoppage, “The Last Stylebender” was defeated by the Brazilian twice in kickboxing. However, at UFC 287, the 34-year-old exacted revenge on Pereira by knocking him out in the first round.
Israel Adesanya Shares His Thoughts On How His Ex-Opponent Will Perform Against Former Light Heavyweight Champion
As “Poatan” prepares to challenge Jiri Prochazka for the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 295 on Saturday, Israel Adesanya has offered his predictions on Pereira’s chances of winning.
“Pereira is a special human being,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “Not just a fighter, a special human being. Now I say that because I’ve been in there with him many times. A special human being, and he’s got a special ability when it comes to putting people to sleep. He can do it to anyone.”
Few fans will soon forget Pereira’s display of strength when he defeated current middleweight champion Sean Strickland at UFC 276 to get his title chance. Pereira only competed in three UFC fights prior to taking on Adesanya for the middleweight championship.
“Poatan” will have more pressure going into UFC 295 as he looks to get revenge on his teammate Glover Teixeira for losing to Procházka at UFC 275. Before suffering a severe shoulder injury, that was the last time the public saw the Czech boxer battle. Despite this, Israel Adesanya believes Procházka will triumph when he returns to Madison Square Garden.
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The former light heavyweight champion Pereira is currently the slight favorite to defeat Jiri Prochazka this Saturday, according to the betting odds. However, it’s important to keep in mind that Procházka has never competed at light heavyweight in the UFC before, with his only victory coming via a close split decision over Jan Błachowicz in July.
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Following the loss of the heavyweight title match between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, the main event of UFC 295 will be the fight between Procházka and Pereira. The co-main event of the card will feature an interim heavyweight title bout between Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich.
