UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira is expecting to rematch Israel Adesanya for the title towards the end of April or start of May.
The Brazilian had already defeated Adesanya twice in kickboxing, but was still a massive underdog in November when the pair met in the octagon after having just seven previous MMA fights. The Nigerian had never been defeated in 20 attempts at middleweight, losing just once when he made the jump to light-heavyweight in an effort to become two-weight world champion.
And fans were stunned when after five difficult rounds Pereira caught Adesanya to hand him the first loss of his middleweight career, and his third in their series. He had already knocked him out once in the ring, and is planning to return for his first defence later this year.
“I want to come back in April or May,” Pereira told ESPN MMA. “I will be ready for those dates. There’s nothing in the works now but I know it’s probably going to be Izzy with the rematch or Robert Whittaker… No preference, Izzy or Robert, [I’m] going to be ready.” He had offered to fight Khamzat Chimaev this weekend in Brazil at light-heavyweight, but struggles to get down to middleweight.
Adesanya, for his part, was respectful in defeat after a lengthy and dominant reign atop the division. He had already beaten multiple fighters in the top five multiple times, and now has to return as a challenger for the first time in almost five years when he faces Pereira again.
The pair first met in a kickboxing ring back in April 2016, with Pereira taking a controversial decision victory before their rematch the following year. It’s widely believed that Adesanya has won the majority of rounds that the pair have shared, but he has been unable to pick up even one victory in their three bouts thus far.
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Zuffa LLC)
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Speaking at a press conference after the fight, Adesanya told reporters: “I’m grateful. What a life, what a moment, f***ing crazy, isn’t it? Similar to the last time, same story, it’s crazy. I was fine, first thing I said to the ref was ‘I’m fine’ because I was still lucid, still in there and I was fine, but s*** happens.
“I talked to my coaches and I trust them, but I was fine, I could see everything that was happening. My eyes might have rolled into the back of my head a little bit but I was lucid. I’m grateful, I’m proud, my team’s proud of me and respectfully, f*** all this s***, f*** everybody else, it’s all about my team.
“I know what I can do. The fight was going my way, he hit my perineal nerve, so that’s why my footwork was compromised. Even when I tripped and did the backwards rolly-polly it was because I was like ‘s*** I just tripped over’ which is not like me. Kudos to him for investing in those calf kicks because it cost me.”
