Chris Curtis has some interesting insight when it comes to fourth fight between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya.
So far in their series, it has been all Pereira, as he has beaten Adesanya twice in the kickboxing and once in MMA. The last encounter (which took place at UFC 281 in November) saw Pereira become the UFC Middleweight Champion after stopping the long-reigning king with strikes.
Adesanya ‘Has To Win This Fight’
With ‘The Last Stylebender’ trailing behind Pereira at 0-3, this next rematch at UFC 287 may very well be his last shot at redemption. When it comes to predicting how the matchup goes, Curtis’ mind is telling him to back Pereira but his heart says otherwise.
“I’m not an Izzy fan,” Curtis said at the UFC 287 media day. “I’m not a fan of the fighting style, like the point fighting approach until something happens. Nothing against him, no disrespect. He’s a good champ, I’m just not a fan of it. I prefer Pereira. My mind says Pereira. At this point though, my heart says it has to be Izzy.
“This man has created his own boogeyman. Pereira said he only came to MMA because Izzy said like, he’ll be forgotten, nobody cares about him. So, he followed him. I’m like, this guy took your life in kickboxing. You left to make a new life and he followed you out of spite. Now I kind of feel for Izzy like he has to win this fight.”
What If Adesanya Loses?
Curtis reckons either Adesanya or the world will be in trouble if he loses yet another rematch against the terrifying Pereira.
“If he doesn’t win this fight— he’s the anime guy too, I am too. So, I’m thinking like the only thing left to do is either throw yourself off of a cliff or you like sacrifice, you go find a ‘Cthulhu Eldritch’ abomination, you make sacrifices and you like ruin the world out of spite,” Curtis continued. “So, Izzy has to win for our sakes cause that dude is gonna be at the end of his rope. He has a personal boogeyman and I feel for him, but that’s a terrifying thought to know like everything you do, like Alex Pereira is looking over your shoulder, like just scowling.”
Chris Curtis wishes Israel Adesanya "good luck" in beating his “personal boogeyman” Alex Pereira 😱 #UFC287
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) April 5, 2023
“He just stands there like Michael Myers in the background of Izzy’s life.” pic.twitter.com/dAsAhCHkGe
Curtis Compares Pereira To ‘Michael Myers’
‘The Action Man’ believes Pereira serves as a real-life horror movie for Adesanya, which would give the former champ that much more motivation to do whatever it takes to get the win.
“Apparently, he’s the nicest man ever. I’ve run into Pereira like so many times. Nicest dude ever. He’s very nice, just a cool dude. But he just stands there like Michael Myers in the background of Izzy’s life. And I’m like, bro, I feel bad for you.
“You have to win,” Curtis added. “So I feel like Izzy’s gonna give it his absolute everything, die in the ring if he has to. People are like, ‘oh, you can’t run from your demons, like your demon has a name and he’s gonna be there on Saturday. So, good luck, bro.”