Adesanya vs Pereira: A Grudge Beyond The Sport
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With only two days left for one of the biggest cards this month, it’s no surprise to see many fans’ excitement over the lineup that the UFC presented. We have Weili looking to return and reclaim strawweight gold against current champion Carla Esparza. We have Dustin, who after losing to former champion Oliviera, looks to put a statement out there for fans by beating Michael Chandler. We have two legends of the sport, Dan Hooker and Frankie Edgar— who will be retiring after this weekend— joining on the main card.
So that just leaves one fight.
While this fight is exciting to me, it has nothing to do with the actual fight itself. In my opinion, there are no grand changes in the division, nor do I feel that both men stand to gain anything significant for their current status should they win.
While this fight has a very decent chance to go in the favor of the champion, further cementing himself as a middleweight legend in the sport, the actual fight is interesting to me for one very specific reason: the dramatic trilogy ending.
In a feud that has lasted 6 total years in the making, one that has crossed into two different combat sports, we finally get to close the book on the war between two accomplished kickboxers.
A rivalry that seems one-sided on paper, due to the records showing Alex holding two victories over the current champion. However, circumstances have left him unable to gain the praise deserved in the eyes of the fans.
In the first fight, we saw a very technical kickboxing match— as it should be considering they were fucking kickboxers. By the third round, Adesanya seemed to have figured out his groove and began to take the lead with his aggression and precise punching.
“The Black Dragon” as he was known as at the time, believed he had done enough to secure himself the victory in a well-fought match between the two.
However, the judges would disagree, and “Poatan” would have his hand raised on this night.
Fast forward just one year later. Adesanya has participated in 8 more bouts, and won 7 of them. Pereira himself had only had two, and had one won, losing his next fight by TKO. With only a week to train for such a big fight, he looked to make the most of it with a statement.
And that he did.
While Adesanya looked amazing in the fight, and seemed to have Pereira’s number, the former Glory champion showed he only needed one blow to settle the bout.
Adesanya would suffer the only knockout of his career, and many would use the now infamous picture to belittle the champion.
Israel would soon switch to MMA, where he would find great success with his style of kickboxing, accruing several wins by finishes, and gaining the middleweight title in the process.
With an outspoken personality, an affinity for anime, and a style that many in the sport enjoyed, he quickly found himself as a fan favorite.
However, with a series of decisions against competitors such as Whittaker, Vettori, Romero, and Cannonier, many are questioning if Adesanya is the same exciting fighter that they grew to enjoy.
This, along with behavior fans of the sport found weird, many found themselves rooting against “the Last Stylebender.”
However, this ultimately hasn’t stopped him from reigning on top in his division.
Now, Alex Pereira looks to do what many fighters have been unable to do in the UFC.
Pereira’s MMA career, while short, has left fans hyped for this matchup.
Most fans first glimpse of Pereira’s power came at LFA 95, nearly two years ago to this day.
While most fans recognize the deceptive speed and the ferocious power of his left hook, many fans forget just how terrifying it is.
For context, after knocking out Thomas Powell, it took the 27 year old fighter 7 FULL MINUTES before he woke up.
It didn’t take long for the UFC to realize the potential *cough* earnings of the former Glory Kickboxer and within a year, Pereira signed up with the organization. And ready to face his next opponent.
He would go on to win his next three fights, finishing both Michalidis and Strickland in brutal fashion, while also landing a devastating left hand that nearly put Bruno out on his feet.
Now, 6 years after their first bout, we come full circle.
Adesanya, who has felt his power and tasted defeat at the hands of Poatan twice, looks to show that he is not the same young kickboxer so many odds years ago. Pereira, in opposite fashion, likely wishes to show that some things never change, and that when it comes down to the two of them, he is the better fighter by far with the wins to show for it.
So how does this tale play out? Do we see Adesanya take one step closer to cementing an all-time great legacy? Do we see Pereira close out this trilogy with another win? Will the fans get robbed or will the fighters?
I guess we’ll find out on Saturday because as far as this story goes, we’ve reached the end game.
