Israel Adesanya faces off against a familiar foe from his past in Alex Pereira at UFC 281. The middleweight champion will put his belt on the line for the sixth time on November 12 at Madison Square Garden.
Jared Cannonier recently weighed in on the upcoming championship fight and outlined Adesanya's advantage going into it. 'The Killa Gorilla' is all too familiar with 'The Last Stylebender' having been his last opponent at UFC 276.
Cannonier spoke about Adesanya's greater experience in mixed martial arts in an interview with Helen Yee:
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"Well, it definitely favors 'Izzy' more. He's been here longer. He's had all these five-round championship fights with the best in our sport. So it's definitely different. He definitely has the experience in that regard, he's altered his kickboxing style more for MMA. Alex still has sort of a kickboxing base, his stance. Not to say that it's a detriment to him, but it can be exploited as far as MMA goes. I think the advantage lies with Israel in that regard."
However, Cannonier also cited Pereira's power advantage in the fight:
"The power lies with Alex, for sure. They're both the same size, you know, so Alex is gonna be a denser opponent. So he's probably a little bit heavier. Yeah, it's definitely gonna be an exciting fight."
Watch Jared Cannonier's full interview with Helen Yee Sports:
Joe Rogan believes a loss to Alex Pereira won't tarnish Israel Adesanya's legacy
Israel Adesanya has already lost twice to Alex Pereira, albeit in a different combat sport. 'Poatan' also holds the distinction of being the only man to ever knock out 'The Last Stylebender'.
Israel Adesanya will face all these mental blocks as he enters the octagon at UFC 281 looking to avenge his earlier losses. However, UFC commentator Joe Rogan does not believe the middleweight champion has to prove himself any further and that a loss will not be a blot on his legacy.
In a recent conversation on The Joe Rogan Experience with Will Harris, Rogan said:
"No, Izzy's a human being. You can't take away from what he's done 'cause what he's done is spectacular. I mean look at what he did to Paulo Costa. Just lit him on fire, ne never even had a chance in that fight. He was just getting outclassed. I think the Izzy of today is very different than the Izzy that fought Pereira twice. Both fighters. He's different now, he's better, he's way better."
Rogan highlighted the progress in Israel Adesanya's skills while referencing his incredible performance against Paulo Costa at UFC 253.
Watch the full discussion below: