![Alex Pereira (left), Israel Adesanya (center), and Chael Sonnen (right) [Images courtesy of Getty and Chael Sonnen's YouTube channel]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/04/49b47-16488172822418-1920.jpg)
![Alex Pereira (left), Israel Adesanya (center), and Chael Sonnen (right) [Images courtesy of Getty and Chael Sonnen's YouTube channel]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%206.25'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Chael Sonnen believes Alex Pereira's wins over Israel Adesanya in kickboxing means nothing in the UFC.
Pereira and Adesanya have fought twice in kickboxing before, with 'Poatan' emerging victorious on both occasions. He earned a stunning knockout in their second fight and is the only man to ever finish 'The Last Stylebender'.
In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen opined that those victories mean nothing with regard to a potential UFC matchup between the two:
"Alex Pereira has got the win over Izzy Adesanya, which believe it or not is equal to nothing in our space. If you think I know all about it, I wanna see these guys rematch."
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Watch Chael Sonnen talk about Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya:
Pereira has made a perfect start to his UFC career, winning both his fights so far. He knocked out Andreas Michailidis with a stunning flying knee in his UFC debut at UFC 268.
The Brazilian fighter earned a decision win against compatriot Bruno Silva in his next fight. 'Poatan' has managed to get the fans invested in him as they want to see him fight Israel Adesanya eventually for the title. Another win might just be enough for Pereira to earn a shot at Adesanya.
Watch Alex Pereira's knockout win over Israel Adesanya in a 2017 kickboxing bout:
Alex Pereira vs. Sean Strickland set for UFC 277
Pereira has verbally agreed to his next fight. The 34-year-old is set to take on No.4-ranked middleweight contender Sean Strickland. It's quite a leap in terms of level of competition for 'Poatan' considering he is not yet ranked in the top 15 of the middleweight division.
Pereira has a professional MMA record of 5-1 and is massively under-experienced compared to Strickland. 'Tarzan' has a professional MMA record of 25-3. The 31-year-old currently boasts a six-fight win streak.
ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto reported the news of the potential matchup at UFC 277 on his Twitter:
It will be interesting to see how that fight eventually plays out. Despite his lack of experience in the promotion, Pereira has opened up as the bookmakers' favorite to come out victorious at UFC 277.
The Brazilian is certainly the better striker. However, Strickland has been inside the octagon with some of the best UFC fighters, and this will by no means be an easy outing for 'Poatan'.
