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Israel Adesanya will attempt to defend his UFC middleweight title for the sixth time against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 on July 2. The event will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will see Alexander Volkanovski attempt to beat Max Holloway for the third time in the co-main event.
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Ahead of the massive fight card, Adesanya caught up with Kayo Sports for a fun segment called Gloves Off that involved him naming certain fighters as answers to some interesting questions. One of the questions asked was who 'The Last Stylebender' believes is the most overhyped fighter currently competing in the UFC. Almost unsurprisingly, the Nigerian native named his former foe Alex Pereira:
"I'm gonna go with Alex Pereira, 'cause I'll make him look easy. Yeah, right now just enjoy the setup fights, enjoy the setup victories, you know? Yeah, that's overhyped."
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For the uninitiated, Pereira is a former kickboxer from Brazil who holds the distinct honor of being the only person to have ever knocked out Israel Adesanya. The two met at Glory of Heroes 15 in 2017, and the fight ended with 'Poatan' flatlining the Kiwi. Interestingly, they'd fought once before at Glory of Heroes 1 in 2016, and the Brazilian had emerged victorious in the three-round bout via unanimous decision.
Watch Israel Adesanya's interaction with Kayo Sports below:
Israel Adesanya eager to face Alex Pereira in UFC despite coach saying Brazilian needs more fights
'The Last Stylebender' is a rare breed of dominant champions in the UFC. Not only has Adesanya handily dispatched his competition since his promotional debut, but he has almost made it look easy. Add that to his unapologetic persona and authenticity, and it's easy to see why he stands out amongst his peers.
Alex Pereira is currently unranked but is scheduled to face No.4-ranked Sean Strickland at UFC 276, with many deeming the bout a potential No.1 contender's match. The middleweight champion's coach Eugene Bareman believes 'Poatan' needs a few more wins to earn a title shot. However, Israel Adesanya doesn't seem to support the same notion.
During a UFC press conference in Sydney, Australia, the king of UFC's 185lb division used the newly-crowned 205lb champion as an example and said:
"I look forward to either one of those fights. I don't like this narrative of like, 'Oh it's too quick for [Alex Pereira].' But look, Jiri [Prochazka] just fought for the belt and won the belt in his third fight in the UFC. I think Anderson [Silva] did it in the second fight. So that's fine, he's new to MMA. I've been in this game for a long time."
Watch the press conference below:
