Israel Adesanya welcomes Alex Pereira fight after UFC 276, dismisses narrative that it's too soon
"These are four-ounce deadly weapons, and I can't wait to drive that through his face after I go through Jared Cannonier."
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Israel Adesanya is willing to defend his middleweight title against Alex Pereira if both emerge victorious at UFC 276.
Adesanya (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) puts his title on the line for the fifth time, this time against Jared Cannonier in the main event July 2 at T-Mobile Arena. The same night, Pereira (5-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) gets a big step up in competition when he faces top contender Sean Strickland also on the pay-per-view main card.
Contrary to his head coach Eugene Bareman, Adesanya thinks it’s the right time for the Pereira fight, even though “Poatan” will only have three UFC wins in as many appearances should he get through Strickland.
“I look forward to either one of those fights,” Adesanya said Tuesday at a UFC news conference. “I don’t like this narrative of like, ‘Oh it’s too quick for 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 his second fight. So, that’s fine. He’s new to MMA. I’ve been in this game for a long time.”
Pereira holds two wins over Adesanya in kickboxing, one by knockout. Prior to the finish by Pereira in their rematch, Adesanya won many of the exchanges. Now, “The Stylebender” would like to remind everyone that it’s a different type of contest in the octagon.
“This TikTok generation has 15-second memory, so they forget,” Adesanya said. “All they see is the knockout, but they didn’t watch the first fight or even watch the second fight before the finish. This is not kickboxing, this is mixed martial arts, and these ain’t big pillow gloves. These are four-ounce deadly weapons, and I can’t wait to drive that through his face after I go through Jared Cannonier.”
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