This is going to be the second time Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira meet inside the UFC Octagon, while they’ve also fought twice in a kickboxing match. Pereira is 3-0 against Adesanya, but online sportsbooks expect The Nigerian Nightmare to get his revenge this Saturday.
Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya 2 Odds
| Moneyline | Odds |
|---|---|
| Alex Pereira | +115 |
| Israel Adesanya | -145 |
*Odds taken from BetUS on Monday, April 3, 2023.
When, Where, and How to Watch?
- Place: Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Florida
- Date: Saturday, April 8, 2023
- Time: ~10:00 PM ET
- How to Watch: PPV
Israel Adesanya Plotting Revenge
Adesanya is 23-2 in his professional MMA career, with one of those losses happening in the UFC Light Heavyweight division (vs. Jan Blachowicz). In his natural division (Middleweight), he’s got only one loss, which happened in his most recent fight – Alex Pereira beat him by TKO in November 2022.
The loss in question happened in the second minute of the fifth round. Before that, Adesanya was on-pair with his opponent. That said, he really should feel bad about not surviving the whole five rounds. The loss meant that he ended up losing his championship belt, which used to be in his possession for three years.
Adesanya’s TKO loss to Pereira was his third loss to the Brazilian. He lost to Pereira twice in kickboxing bouts. One of those losses was a KO loss – it happened in 2017 in Adesanya’s last kickboxing match.
Alex Pereira is Adesanya’s Kryptonite
Adesanya is one of the best strikers in the UFC, but Pereira might be even better. The Brazilian is a former kickboxing champion in Glory and other promotions. Since transitioning to MMA, he’s 7-1 with six wins by KO/TKO.
This guy lands 5.23 significant strikes per minute, some of which are incredibly powerful. He’s competing in the UFC Middleweight division, but he’s got the power of a light heavyweight fighter. In fact, during his kickboxing days (until 2021), he fought many fights in the light heavyweight division.
Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira 2 Prediction
Israel Adesanya is one of the best fighters in the history of the UFC Middleweight division, and if he’s going to challenge for the GOAT status, he needs to beat his archnemesis, Alex Pereira. It won’t be easy, but we think he’s going to pull it off, using his good-old strategy of out-striking the opponent and winning by decision.
Each of his last three wins happened this way, and he was very close to beating Pereira by a decision last November. He wasn’t lucky that evening, but this time, we think his plan will come true.
Pick: Israel Adesanya to win by decision