5 reasons why Alex Pereira could be a bad matchup for Israel Adesanya

#2 His height and reach

Like his longtime rival, Alex Pereira is one of the biggest middleweights currently competing in the UFC. He stands at 6 feet 4 inches tall, with a 79 inch reach. The only difference between him and Adesanya is an inch in terms of reach, with the Nigerian possessing an 80 inch reach.

This changes the dynamics of Adesanya's preferred form of defensive striking. He often pulls back at the waist to lean away from his opponent's punches. This causes them to overextend and leaves them in prime position to be countered by counter-left hooks and pull counters.

He's benefitted from being significantly taller and longer than most of his foes. However, Alex Pereira is tall and long enough to have the current middleweight champion still be caught by the end of the Brazilian's punches, even if he leans away from them.

This was part of what rendered Alexander Gustafsson a difficult matchup for Jon Jones in their first bout. The Swede's matching length and height meant that Jones couldn't simply extend his arm out and lean away from punches as he retreated, because Gustafsson's punches still landed.

The same is true for Alex Pereira, who matches Adesanya's stature and will be in a position to land his punches. This is how he knocked his foe unconscious in their second bout.

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#1 Pereira has beaten Adesanya twice already

Alex Pereira has defeated Israel Adesanya twice in his career. Both matchups were kickboxing bouts, and much is said about how both fighters have improved since then.

Furthermore, many suggest that the dynamics of a potential third matchup will be different as they will take place under MMA rules, not kickboxing. However, the dynamics won't change at all because all both fighters do in MMA is kickbox.

Neither fighter grapples unless they're forced to engage in defensive grappling when their foes attempt to wrestle or grapple with them.

The situation is similar to the narrative surrounding Valentina Shevchenko's third bout with Joanna Jędrzejczyk. The two women fought each other twice in kickboxing matchups before their third outing in the UFC.

Talks of how an MMA fight would, in some way, change the dynamics of the bout were prominent. Yet when the two women finally locked horns, the bout played out in a manner similar to their first two.

Shevchenko bested Jędrzejczyk in the striking department and her foe didn’t use any grappling to add a new dimension previously unseen in their first two matchups.

The same is likely true for a potential third bout between Alex Pereira and Adesanya. It will be almost purely a kickboxing affair and that is a dynamic that fans have already seen twice. Both fights ended with a victory for Alex Pereira.