They have fought twice before in kickboxing, and now, Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira will collide in mixed martial arts.
The Trilogy
On Friday, Adesanya announced the matchup between himself and Pereira on Sportscenter, and then the UFC confirmed the announcement shortly after on social media. UFC 281 will take place on November 12 at Madison Square Garden’s iconic sports arena.
As announced on @SportsCenter, we have a 𝑴𝑨𝑺𝑺𝑰𝑽𝑬 main event set for MSG 🍎@Stylebender vs Alex Pereira is confirmed for #UFC281!
[ Tickets on sale Friday August 26th 🎟 ] pic.twitter.com/vY5wNDS1OX
— UFC (@ufc) August 5, 2022
History
The fight between Adesanya (23-1) and Pereira (6-1) was pretty much set when Pereira knocked out Sean Strickland at UFC 276.
Adesanya and Pereira have collided twice before in kickboxing, with the Brazilian winning both times. Their first meeting happened in 2016 with ‘Poatan’ with a very close decision, and then a year later, he would brutally knock ‘Stylerbender’ out.
Obviously, since their two infamous kickboxing matches, Adesanya has transitioned seamlessly into MMA and is quickly becoming one of the best middleweight fighters of all time.
Adesanya is coming off a lackluster but dominant win over Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 to defend his title for the fifth time. On the other hand, Pereira has been perfect thus far in the UFC, winning his first three fights.
UFC 281
No other fights have been announced for UFC 281; however, Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler has been rumored to take place.