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In August 2022, MMA legend and veteran analyst Chael Sonnen gave a hot take on the prospect of a third match between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya. At the time, 'Poatan' and 'The Last Stylebender' had an epic rivalry in kickboxing where the former beat the latter twice.
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Alex Pereira is the only man to have knocked out Israel Adesanya in kickboxing. Adesanya, at the time, was nearly untouchable in the UFC, holding the UFC middleweight belt with an iron fist.
Despite being the only man to have beaten the reigning champ (albeit in a different sport), the prospect of Pereira facing Adesanya in MMA wasn't something Chael Sonnen was interested in. In an episode of his "Bad Guy Inc" show on YouTube, Sonnen said:
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"So [Alex] Pereira has done a great job...but he is absolutely double-crossing his partners... He has a job to come and sell and to build this fight. 100%. And if he wins this fight [with Adesanya], he now takes the [UFC middleweight] division on his shoulders. If he is gonna take the reins from Adesanya you've got to look at everything that Adesanya is doing, You've got to be able to replace that and do more. We're not even in that conversation - let alone achieve those things."
He continued:
"It would be a disaster if Pereira was to win that fight. Add that to the promotional tools. You're [Adesanya] one of the great marketers in the sport who cares about the audience. He cares enough to bring you guys entertainment versus the guy [Pereira] who doesn't.... that doesn't just get that side of it."
The rematch did happen in 2022 with Pereira stopping Adesanya again. The two ran it back a few months later and 'The Last Stylebender' was finally able to slay 'Poatan', knocking him out in the second round.
A third match in MMA didn't happen and Adesanya would later drop his UFC middleweight belt to Sean Strickland in his next fight. As for Alex Pereira, he moved up to light-heavyweight and won the belt there. He is now set to defend it for a second time at UFC 303 this weekend.
Watch Chael Sonnen's video here (8:00):
Alex Pereira to defend UFC light heavyweight throne in rematch with Jiri Prochazka
At UFC 303 this weekend, Alex Pereira will have his second rematch in MMA. Across the octagon from him will be former UFC light heavyweight world champion Jiri Prochazka, whom he defeated for the belt via KO last year.
Much like what he did to Adesanya, Pereira handed Prochazka his first KO loss in the UFC. While the win officially counted as TKO, some fans - so as Prochazka - felt that the stoppage was a bit early as the Czech fighter immediately got back up to his feet and seemingly okay.
After their first encounter, both Pereira and Prochazka fought in UFC 300 last April, with 'Poatan' defending his belt against Jamahal Hill and the former 205-pound king knocking out Aleksandar Rakic.
UFC 303 will be a quick turnaround for both men, who just fought over two months ago.
