Tag: alex pereira

Classy Alex Pereira Refuses To Pick Against ‘Good Heart’ Israel Adesanya Despite Heated Rivalry: ‘I’m Here, Cheering For Him’

It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya have one of the most iconic and popular rivalries in mixed martial arts history. They first crossed paths in GLORY as kickboxers and then fought twice in the UFC. Although “Poatan” has three wins over “Izzy” including MMA and kickboxing, the latter […]

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It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya have one of the most iconic and popular rivalries in mixed martial arts history. They first crossed paths in GLORY as kickboxers and then fought twice in the UFC.

Although “Poatan” has three wins over “Izzy” including MMA and kickboxing, the latter often brags about getting the last laugh. In April 2023, Adesanya knocked out Pereira at UFC 287 to reclaim his UFC middleweight championship.

Since then, the Brazilian has become the light heavyweight champion with two title defenses to his name. He is also expected to move up to heavyweight in the near future. Adesanya, on the other end, lost the middleweight title to Sean Strickland via decision and is gearing up for his return against current champ Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305.

Alex Pereira Sends His Support To Misunderstood Israel Adesanya

Pereira was recently asked about Adesanya picking him to lose against Jamahal Hill and Ji?í Procházka in an interview uploaded on his official YouTube channel. The UFC light heavyweight champion claimed to be unbothered and reiterated that he’s still backing his rival to win against DDP.

“They asked me about Adesanya and Du Plessis, I said I don’t see Adesanya losing. Just because he said that about me doesn’t mean I’ll say it back.”

“Poatan” went on to appreciate Adesanya as a person and vowed to keep cheering for “The Last Stylebender” even if he doesn’t reciprocate in kind.

Pereira also suggested the former UFC middleweight champion should continue fighting, referring to Adesanya’s vague claim that he would fight again in 2027 after the Strickland loss.

“i’m here, supporting him, I already fought him, not going to say he should lose. I’m not mad at him, no grudges. Like I said if one day it’s possible to train with him.”

At 34, Izzy can certainly bounce back from losses like before and go on a new title run at middleweight. From the looks of it, his long-time opponent will be happy to see such a scenario.

“[People Claim] He’s this, he’s bad” and what not. The people who truly know him that I had contact with, talk good about him. [Adesanya] Has a good heart, a lot of the times it’s just marketing. I believe that, I can see he is a good person.

“so that’s why I’m here, cheering for him. If he doesn’t cheer for me, that’s not my problem. But I’m here, cheering for him.”

Despite the animosity in the past, it won’t be a surprise if the two kickboxing greats end up training together soon.

Read More: Conor McGregor Gives ‘Ecstatic’ Reaction To Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Alleged Tax Debt In Russia: ‘Typical Rat Behavior!’

Continue Reading Classy Alex Pereira Refuses To Pick Against ‘Good Heart’ Israel Adesanya Despite Heated Rivalry: ‘I’m Here, Cheering For Him’ at MMA News.

Robert Whittaker eyes fight with Alex Pereira, still gunning for win over ‘Tall b*stard’ Israel Adesanya

Robert WhittakerFor many fans, No. 2 ranked middleweight contender Robert Whittaker is the man that should be challenging new 185-pound king Alex Pereira. Following Pereira’s shocking fifth-round knockout of former titleholder Israel Adesanya in the UFC 281 main event, potential opponents like Khamzat Chimaev have been coming out of the woodwork, looking for an opportunity to […]

Robert Whittaker

For many fans, No. 2 ranked middleweight contender Robert Whittaker is the man that should be challenging new 185-pound king Alex Pereira.

Following Pereira’s shocking fifth-round knockout of former titleholder Israel Adesanya in the UFC 281 main event, potential opponents like Khamzat Chimaev have been coming out of the woodwork, looking for an opportunity to dethrone the new champion. You can certainly add Robert Whittaker’s name to that list, but getting a win over ‘The Last Stylebender’ remains a top priority for ‘The Reaper.’

“I’m the toughest matchup for anyone in the division,” Whittaker said during an appearance on Submission Radio with Kacper Rosolowski and Denis Shkuratov. “And don’t get me wrong, I’m still gunning for Adesanya. I’m still gonna work out that puzzle, that tall bastard.

“But yeah, I think stylistically I match up with Alex a bit better because he’s much more upright, less fade away, more forward-pushing, and he’s just there more. And I believe I can use a lot of my arsenal and my skillset against a guy that isn’t fading away in a fighting counter and counter-fighting the way Adesanya does. But wait and see. That dude’s huge. He doesn’t look like a fun prospect to fight.”

Is Third Time the Charm for Robert Whittaker?

The former middleweight champion has matched up with Adesanya on two separate occasions, coming up short each time. Their first meeting at UFC 243 ended in disaster for ‘The Reaper’ who suffered a brutal second-round knockout. A little over two years later they would run it back at UFC 271. Whittaker fared significantly better in the rematch but still came up short, losing via unanimous decision.

Robert Whittaker is currently scheduled to take on No. 6 ranked contender Paulo Costa at UFC 284 in February though ‘The Eraser’ has cast some doubt on that contest claiming he is yet to sign on the dotted line for what would be the final bout of his current contract. Regardless of what happens with Paulo Costa, ‘The Reaper’ is in the midst of a full training camp and will be making the walk when the UFC heads to Perth, Australia in early 2023.

Since 2014, Robert Whittaker has gone 13-2 inside the Octagon with his only losses coming against Israel Adesanya.

Eugene Bareman backs Israel Adesanya in an Alex Pereira rematch: ‘We just have to change a couple of tactics’

Israel Adesanya eugene-bareman-alex-pereiraTrainer Eugene Bareman is highly confident in his fighter Israel Adesanya to defeat Alex Pereira in a rematch for the UFC middleweight throne. Between kickboxing and MMA, Brazil’s ‘Poatan’ Pereira has defeated ‘The Last Stylebender’ Israel Adesanya in all three of their meetings, with two being won by knockout. The two fighters most recently fought […]

Israel Adesanya eugene-bareman-alex-pereira

Trainer Eugene Bareman is highly confident in his fighter Israel Adesanya to defeat Alex Pereira in a rematch for the UFC middleweight throne.

Between kickboxing and MMA, Brazil’s ‘Poatan’ Pereira has defeated ‘The Last Stylebender’ Israel Adesanya in all three of their meetings, with two being won by knockout. The two fighters most recently fought headlining UFC 281 in a back-and-forth fight but Pereira won via fifth-round TKO.

The Brazilian-born Pereira is well known for his knockout power. Before his knockout victory run in the UFC, he was a two-division world champion in GLORY Kickboxing. Between MMA and kickboxing ‘Poatan’ has won the vast majority of his fights by way of knockout stoppage.

In spite of the knockout threat, with a few adjustments, Eugene Bareman believes that Israel Adesanya would defeat Alex Pereira if they met again in the octagon.

Eugene Bareman likes Israel Adesanya’s chances in a rematch

In an interview with Submission Radio, the New Zealand-based trainer Bareman explained:

“We just have to change a couple of tactics. Yeah, like I said, change a couple of tactics, a couple things and we’ll be sweet. And we can do that within that given timeframe, yeah … We’re quietly confident. You gotta understand, we were winning that fight relatively comfortably. We felt we were taking the rounds. But not comfortable enough – when you’re fighting somebody like that, who’s gameplan appears to be, it’s not a guy who builds his gameplan around accumulation of damage.“

Bareman also added that the adjustments and changes Adesanya needs to win would be quite minor. He continued:

“Like I said, we don’t have to extensively reinvent the wheel. In my opinion, we have to just tweak a few things and we can turn that fight around. So yeah, that’s what it more comes down to, is how much time do we need to train to kind of make the changes and the tweaks that we need to turn this fight around. And I just don’t anticipate we need to do a hell of a lot.” [Transcript courtesy of MMA Mania]

See the full interview below:

Magomed Ankalaev Highlights Where He ‘Can Catch’ Alex Pereira On The Feet In Potential UFC Title Fight: ‘His Standup Is Overrated’

UFC light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev doesn’t see what’s so special about the striking of his division’s champion. Alex Pereira finds himself atop most lists when it comes to the current top standup fighters competing on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage. His fearsome reputation on the feet was built as a two-weight Glory Kickboxing champion. […]

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UFC light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev doesn’t see what’s so special about the striking of his division’s champion.

Alex Pereira finds himself atop most lists when it comes to the current top standup fighters competing on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage. His fearsome reputation on the feet was built as a two-weight Glory Kickboxing champion.

He’s since enhanced it inside the Octagon, where he’s delivered brutal knockout after brutal knockout to secure the crowns at both middleweight and light heavyweight.

“Poatan” currently reigns with the latter in his possession, and he cemented that status last weekend in the main event of UFC 303, where he got the better of Ji?í Procházka for the second time in emphatic fashion.

It didn’t take long for talk to turn to the Brazilian’s future, and one high-ranked contender was waiting in the wings to stake his claim with a number of posts on social media.

And as his campaign for another title shot continues, Ankalaev has made a bold assertion regarding the champ…

Ankalaev Downplays Pereira’s Striking Superiority

During a recent interview with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, Ankalaev reiterated his belief that a clash with Pereira makes sense later this year and assessed how they match up against one another.

Many have long touted the Russian as a future threat to “Poatan” owing to his wrestling abilities. Ankalaev, however, has dismissed the notion that he’ll be outgunned on the feet by what he described as an “overrated” striking game.

“With Alex, you just have to watch a couple of his past fights,” Ankalaev said, via his translator. “With (Jan) B?achowicz, you know, his wrestling was on a level and Alex didn’t have much to offer. Same with (Israel) Adesanya, they’re both strikers but Adesanya was able to show him some wrestling.

“I think he is a great striker. But he is the kind of guy who always moves forward, and that is where sometimes he might make a mistake. That’s where I might catch him,” Ankalaev continued. “Definitely he has a strong punch, but I think just overall, his standup fight is overrated. Watch his fight with Jamahal Hill; he had something to offer to counter him. Same with the fight with Procházka. … He was probably lucky or didn’t face serious opposition. Wrestling is there, but I’m ready to fight with him standing up.”

In pleading his case for a showdown with Pereira, Ankalaev has vowed to knock the champ out. Whether that will be the path he pursues in a potential fight down the line or if he looks to overcome “Poatan” in the grappling realm remains to be seen.

Continue Reading Magomed Ankalaev Highlights Where He ‘Can Catch’ Alex Pereira On The Feet In Potential UFC Title Fight: ‘His Standup Is Overrated’ at MMA News.

Jamahal Hill All Praise For ‘Evolved’ Alex Pereira After UFC 303 Performance: ‘Beautiful Adjustments, Bro!’

Jamahal Hill was sure to have a close eye on the main event of UFC 303 this past weekend when the light heavyweight title was on the line. “Sweet Dreams” was unsuccessful in reclaiming the title at UFC 300 after he was stopped by Alex Pereira in the main event. Saturday night saw “Poatan” secure […]

Continue Reading Jamahal Hill All Praise For ‘Evolved’ Alex Pereira After UFC 303 Performance: ‘Beautiful Adjustments, Bro!’ at MMA News.

Jamahal Hill was sure to have a close eye on the main event of UFC 303 this past weekend when the light heavyweight title was on the line.

“Sweet Dreams” was unsuccessful in reclaiming the title at UFC 300 after he was stopped by Alex Pereira in the main event.

Saturday night saw “Poatan” secure another title defense, this time in a rematch with former champion Ji?í Procházka where he beat him even more impressively than the first time around.

Hill broke the fight down in a video on his YouTube channel where despite his hunger to avenge his loss and take back the title, he gave lots of credit to his former opponent.

Jamahal Hill Says Alex Pereira Looked Better Than Ever At UFC 303

In his breakdown of the fight, Hill spoke about a few things that he noticed from Pereira that were different to his previous fights inside the UFC.

Heading into this highly anticipated rematch, a lot was said about how Procházka was winning the first fight against “Poatan” until he was caught by his opponent’s lethal left hook.

Hill pointed out how Pereira was able to take control of the fight much earlier on this occasion and dominate the contest until it was over, unlike many of his other fights.

“Great main event, absolutely dominant performance by Alex from start to finish. I believe this is honestly probably the first that I’ve seen where Alex came out and won the fight from start until he got the finish. He didn’t have to come back and, it was still some adversity, Ji?í still presented his challenges in it but he adapted and he made good adjustments.”

Hill also spoke about the technique that Pereira used to set up his left hook that once again spelled the beginning of the end for Procházka.

Having been on the end of an advancing, lunging left hook from the champion in April, Hill analyzed how his former foe made the adjustment in order to land the strike as a counter whilst moving away from his opponent, different to what he did back at UFC 295.

“The adjustment that I seen that Alex made from that was the check hook. More so before, you see him in come like he steps in with that hook and he tries to land it leaning in and throwing his power forward. This time we seen him implement it from more of a defensive and a counteractive manner in this particular fighting sequence.

“The first hook that he landed on Ji?í, he hit him and you could see the eyes roll, you could see him get dazed a little bit. From there, he landed another one that kind of wobbled him, that kind of shook the legs a little bit and then he landed the one at the end of the round that put him out, that put him on his back. It’s beautiful adjustments bro, beautiful adjustments. He looked evolved, he looked like he’s taking more steps and getting better as a fighter.”

Continue Reading Jamahal Hill All Praise For ‘Evolved’ Alex Pereira After UFC 303 Performance: ‘Beautiful Adjustments, Bro!’ at MMA News.

Henry Cejudo Still Unconvinced By Alex Pereira Despite UFC 303 KO Win: ‘He’s Not Mentioning Jon Jones Because I Think He Knows…’

Alex Pereira saved UFC 303 by knocking out Ji?í Procházka in the second round with a vicious head kick. He walked out of the Octagon with minimal damage, and fans are already discussing his next fight. At light heavyweight, Magomed Ankalaev is seemingly the only fighter with a case for a title challenge. However, more […]

Continue Reading Henry Cejudo Still Unconvinced By Alex Pereira Despite UFC 303 KO Win: ‘He’s Not Mentioning Jon Jones Because I Think He Knows…’ at MMA News.

Alex Pereira saved UFC 303 by knocking out Ji?í Procházka in the second round with a vicious head kick. He walked out of the Octagon with minimal damage, and fans are already discussing his next fight.

At light heavyweight, Magomed Ankalaev is seemingly the only fighter with a case for a title challenge. However, more fans want “Poatan” to move up a weight class and have a super fight with Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall.

Apart from the loss to Israel Adesanya, Pereira has mostly looked invincible in the UFC. Is he really that good or is he yet to be properly tested by a superior grappler? Here’s Henry Cejudo’s two cents on the matter…

Henry Cejudo Expects Alex Pereira To Fight ‘Well-Rounded Wrestler’ Before Taking On Jon Jones

In a recent episode uploaded on the Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru & Henry, the former UFC champions discussed the UFC 303 main event. “Triple C” congratulated the Brazilian but quickly pointed out how the outcome wasn’t surprising because the fight didn’t go to the ground.

According to Cejudo, Procházka should’ve avoided a battle on the feet as Pereira will always have an edge there. He also thinks that the UFC light heavyweight champion still needs to beat a remarkable wrestler like Ankalaev to prove his well-roundedness.

“It’s not until Alex Pereira really fights somebody like Ankalaev where I’m gonna say, ‘okay, this guy is the…’ is he the real deal? 100 percent but, could he get past a well-rounded wrestler? Someone who’s going to bring in the grappling?”

“Triple C” criticized Pereira’s past opponents in the UFC’s light heavyweight division for trying to strike with him. Like many, he believes that fights with heavyweights Jones and Aspinall will truly test his mettle because of the wrestling.

“The IQ of the light heavyweight division, dude, I think everybody just wants to strike, Kamaru. I think that’s where everything goes wrong.”

Cejudo claims that Pereira hasn’t talked about fighting Jones because it won’t be his ideal matchup. This is also why the former UFC double champ is excited to see Pereira vs. Ankalaev at light heavyweight first.

“Either way, Alex Pereira, he’s not mentioning Jon Jones because I think he knows that Jon Jones has that special sauce, and it’s called wrestling. But that being said, I want to see the fight with Ankalaev.”

Continue Reading Henry Cejudo Still Unconvinced By Alex Pereira Despite UFC 303 KO Win: ‘He’s Not Mentioning Jon Jones Because I Think He Knows…’ at MMA News.