UFC 281: Israel Adesanya claims he "paved the way" for Alex Pereira, says 'Poatan' has copied his moves

Israel Adesanya has by far been the most successful UFC fighter to transition from kickboxing to MMA.

With that in mind, Adesanya has no doubt that his nemesis Alex Pereira studied his style when the Brazilian made his way into the UFC.

Kickboxers have historically struggled with the grappling aspect of MMA. However, Adesanya's tremendous takedown defense allowed him to reach the mountaintop of his division, winning the undisputed title in 2019.

During an interview with BT Sport, Adesanya claimed that he opened the door for fellow kickboxers like Pereira to get into the leading MMA promotion in the world.

"I'm pretty sure he looked at me at lot... I know he looked at me a lot when I was coming into the UFC and how I succeeded. My get-ups from the wall or from the ground, my defense on the wall – it's all stuff that he's copied. So I kind of laid out the blueprint for him and I paved the way for him to get here so without me he wouldn't even be here."

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments in the clip below:

However, Pereira claimed that Adesanya had no influence on his decision to pursue a career in professional MMA. The title challenger revealed that it was training partner Glover Teixeira who inspired him to make the switch.

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Israel Adesanya thinks "one-dimensional" Alex Pereira won't be his toughest UFC fight

As far as kickboxing bouts go, Alex Pereira owns two wins over Israel Adesanya. 'Poatan' edged 'The Last Stylebender' in their initial meeting in 2016 and knocked him out during their rematch the following year.

Despite his pair of losses to Pereira, Adesanya is convinced he's faced way more difficult matchups than the Brazilian. Asked if he views Pereira as his toughest test in the UFC, the No.2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter told ESPN MMA:

"No, I don’t think [he presents the toughest challenge]. He’s very one-dimensional. He’s early on in this game as well so I’m even glad to get him now. I don’t know who he has in his corner. I know he has Glover [Teixeira] and his boxing coach. I don’t know what their background is, I don’t really mind, I just worry about me. I definitely know he’s not as smart as me in the cage. I know that for a fact.”

Watch Israel Adesanya's interview below:

Adesanya will square off against Pereira with the middleweight title on the line on Saturday's UFC 281 card. The event will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York.