Israel Adesanya next fight: How many rounds has Alex Pereira fought in professional MMA?

Israel Adesanya is set to face Alex Pereira at UFC 281 next month, with Pereira having previously beaten the New Zealander twice in professional kickboxing. However, that may count for little in MMA. The Brazilian has fewer professional rounds in the sport than Adesanya has fights.

Pereira has only fought 13 professional rounds since transitioning to MMA in 2015.

To put the Brazilian's lack of experience into perspective, Adesanya has fought a total of 15 rounds in just his last three fights in the UFC. 'Poatan' currently has a 6-1 record in professional MMA, and recently beat Sean Strickland in the very first round at UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier.

Israel Adesanya is set to fight Alex Pereira for a third time, but this will be the first time the two fighters have met under MMA rules. Adesanya hasn't managed to finish his fights in his recent outings, which is something 'Poatan' hasn't had an issue with since fighting under MMA rules.

Adesanya's future opponent has finished five out of his seven MMA opponents. Quemuel Ottoni submitted the Brazilian on his professional debut and Bruno Silva survived all three rounds against Pereira, but lost via unanimous decision.

Watch the highlights of Pereira's latest UFC outing here:

Israel Adesanya will put his UFC middleweight title on the line against Alex Pereira next month. The bout is highly anticipated given their kickboxing history and will likely be a Fight of the Year contender if it turns into an all-out striking battle.

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How many finishes does Israel Adesanya have in the UFC?

As mentioned, since joining the UFC, Israel Adesanya has not often finished his MMA bouts early. 'The Last Stylebender' has only stopped four of his UFC opponents - Rob Wilkinson, Derek Brunson, Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa.

Adesanya's last win via stoppage came back in 2020, with his impressive second-round victory against Paulo Costa. Since suffering his first professional MMA defeat against Jan Błachowicz, the UFC middleweight champion has remained unbeaten in his last three organizational outings.

Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier have all lost to the middleweight champion via unanimous decision in Adesanya's most recent UFC outings. The 33-year-old will headline UFC 281 in New York when taking on Pereira.

The only other title fight on the UFC 281 fight card is in the women's strawweight division. Carla Esparza will attempt to defend her belt against Weili Zhang in the 115lbs division in the co-main event at Madison Square Garden.