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Marvin Vettori has chimed in with his take on Israel Adesanya's upcoming MMA rematch against Alex Pereira. Adesanya has faced Pereira twice in the sport of kickboxing and once in MMA thus far, losing all three combat sports contests.
In their most recent fight, 'Poatan' defeated Adesanya via fifth-round TKO in November 2022 to end his UFC middleweight title reign and capture the 185-pound belt. Presently, reigning UFC middleweight champion Pereira is scheduled to defend his title in a rematch against 'Izzy' at UFC 287 on April 8, 2023.
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Speaking to Inside Fighting, former UFC middleweight title challenger Marvin Vettori was asked about his prediction for the highly-anticipated UFC 287 clash between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. Vettori is no stranger to Adesanya.
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'The Italian Dream' has faced 'Izzy' twice inside the octagon, losing via split decision in April 2018 and via unanimous decision in June 2021. Picking Pereira to defeat Adesanya at UFC 287, Vettori stated:
"Pereira. Pereira -- Pereira is going to beat him again. So, maybe that [Pereira] is another fight that I'd definitely like. Well, both guys [Pereira and Adesanya]; both guys for sure. But I'm saying [I could fight Adesanya] because maybe like, you know, like, I see Whittaker getting at Pereira first. So, maybe I get Adesanya after this fight."
Marvin Vettori was beaten by former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker via unanimous decision in September 2022. Vettori's most recent fight saw him return to the win column by defeating Roman Dolidze via unanimous decision earlier this month.
Speaking of which, 'The Italian Dream' suggested that he believes Adesanya would lose at UFC 287 and then face him for the third time. Vettori further indicated that he foresees Whitaker fighting Pereira for the title after UFC 287.
Watch Vettori discuss the topic at 0:22 in the video below:
A closer look at Israel Adesanya's defeats against Alex Pereira
The first professional combat sports contest between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira was a kickboxing bout that transpired in 2016. Pereira won that matchup via unanimous decision.
Their rematch, also a kickboxing bout, saw 'Poatan' defeat Adesanya via third-round KO in 2017. Several years later, Pereira faced and beat 'Izzy' for the UFC middleweight title in an MMA bout at UFC 281 in November 2022.
While Israel Adesanya lost all three fights to Alex Pereira, the consensus is that every fight was closely contested. In fact, Adesanya almost knocked 'Poatan' out in their kickboxing rematch in 2017 and MMA clash in 2022, only for Pereira to turn the tables late in both fights. On that note, Adesanya has consistently maintained that he'll face Pereira as many times as necessary until he finally beats him.
