Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya reach comparison: Which fighter has the advantage at UFC 281?

Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya both stand at 6'4" (193 cm). However, 'The Last Stylebender' edges 'Poatan' out in terms of reach by one inch. Alex Pereira has a reach of 79 inches, while Israel Adesanya's reach is 80 inches.

The pair will clash for the third time in their combat sports careers and the first time in MMA at UFC 281 this weekend. As well as a reach advantage, 'The Last Stylebender' also has higher championship-level experience in the octagon.

However, Alex Pereira has knockout power with the ability to down his opponents as soon as he connects. If he can draw Adesanya into a firefight, he has a chance of putting away the middleweight champ, as he did in their second kickboxing bout. In the rematch, he landed a left hook that knocked Adesanya out clean.

If Israel Adesanya can fight smart and use his range to land counterstrikes on 'Poatan', he can avenge his loss to the Brazilian and successfully defend his middleweight title. The champ has fought to five-round decisions seven times in his career, so he has the experience required to carry him in rounds four and five.

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Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira: Stats comparison

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira are high-level strikers with decorated kickboxing resumes. However, 'The Last Stylebender' has more bouts in kickboxing and MMA than 'Poatan'. He has 15 wins by knockout in his 23-1 MMA record.

Pereira was a two-division GLORY champ, with 21 knockouts in a 33-7 kickboxing career. He is currently on a five-fight win streak with five knockouts in his 6-1 MMA career.

'The Last Stylebender' has a striking accuracy of 50%, having landed 927 out of 1,857 significant strikes in his MMA career. He has a strike rate of 3.93 strikes landed per minute. His strike absorption rate is 2.67 strikes absorbed per minute.

'Poatan', meanwhile, has a striking accuracy of 61%, landing 144 out of 237 attempted significant strikes. He has a strike rate of 6.29 strikes landed per minute and an absorption rate of 3.36 strikes absorbed per minute.

Despite having two wins over the middleweight champ in kickboxing, Pereira is a +140 underdog against the champ, who is a -166 favorite.

Adesanya vs. Pereira is the main event at UFC 281, set for November 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York.