Joe Rogan and Joaquin Buckley gave their analysis of the upcoming fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira.
Reigning UFC middleweight champion Adesanya is set to take on longtime foe Pereira in the headlining bout of UFC 281 on Saturday, Nov. 12 at the Madison Square Garden in New York. He goes into the bout looking to add another title defense under his belt and avenge his vicious knockout defeat, which happened in the kickboxing ring against Pereira.
Joe Rogan & Joaquin Buckley break down Israel Adesanya v Alex Pereira
In a recent episode of the popular podcast show, Joe Rogan Experience, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan hosted 185-pound fighter Buckley to discuss the nearing title fight between Izzy and ‘Poatan.’
Buckley said: “I think it’s going to be the same fight as Yoel vs Izzy, where you got two people just staring each other down not trying to make that move because they both have the capability of knocking each other out. Or a Francis Ngannou vs. Derrick Lewis.
“If he don’t apply his emotions into it like he hasn’t done with every other fight, I feel like he’s going to do enough to win. But I feel like Alex Pereira is not going to be able to apply that pressure on Izzy just because he won’t have the energy to sustain that for five rounds.”
Rogan: “Because of the fact that he’s cutting so much weight… This Pereira fight is so interesting because he has that ridiculous power.
Buckley: “The thing about Izzy, he is patient and he would strategically break you down all night long for 25 minutes. If he gotta touch that leg all day, he’s going to touch it. If you are not going to answer back, that’s what he’s going to do. Alex Pereira unfortunately doesn’t have the ability to fight the way he needs to to win for five rounds. It’s going to be a boring fight. It’s not going to be as exciting as people think.”
Buckley believes Adesanya needs an exciting win right now
Adesanya is coming off a lackluster win over Jared Cannonier in July at UFC 276. He faced criticism from fellow fighters and fans for cruising his way to a lopsided decision win and got labeled ‘boring’ for his recent string of performances.
According to Buckley, ‘Stylebender’ really needs a convincing victory now more than ever.
“That’s the thing. Izzy needs that type of exciting fight right now because of the Jared Cannonier fight. We can say Paulo Costa but that was so long ago. We’ve been expecting this from the champ because he’s so popularized outside the cage; the french tips, the pearl necklace, doing all this showman stuff. But we want to see that showcase in the cage as well.
“That’s my biggest thing. I’m impressed by Izzy and am a fan of him first of all, but I feel like if you don’t bring the fight to him, he’s not going to bring it to you.”
Adesanya recently revealed he turned down a role in the iconic Rocky movie franchise spinoff Creed 3 to focus on his mixed martial arts career and promised to deliver a ‘horror show.’
