Israel Adesanya has a well-documented competitive rivalry with Alex Pereira, but that doesn’t get in the way of breaking down the UFC light heavyweight champion’s fights.
In the main event of UFC 313 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+) in Las Vegas, Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) takes on Magomed Ankalaev, an opponent who has been labeled by many as the most challenging yet on his 205-pound title run. While Adesanya acknowledges the threats Ankalaev (20-1-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC) brings to the octagon, he doesn’t see the title changing hands.
One particular area of the matchup stands out to Adesanaya, and that’s Pereira’s ability to land fight-changing kicks.
“Leg kicks – let’s just address the f*cking elephant in the room,” Adesanya said in a UFC 313 preview on his YouTube channel. “That’s going to be a factor in this fight. He might have to become a wrestler in this fight. He might have to go into his bag for this one. … I think ego’s a part of it where it’s like, talk, fight talk. He’s saying what he wants to say to get the fight. He’ll stand up with him. Yeah, you’ll start off standing, but I don’t think it’s going to keep standing. He’s going to clinch. He’s definitely going to try to take him down.
“I think Ankalaev is going to try to take him down. Can he keep him down? Alex Pereira is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu now. He’s exponentially getting better. I haven’t really seen him use it much in a fight because he hasn’t had to, but I’ve seen him roll with some people recently, and it was a lot different from what I remember. It seems like his flow is better on the ground.”
Pereira and Ankalaev have been going back and forth before the fight about agreements to stand and bang, and the champ even offered a bet to his challenger. While the bet was denied due to religious reasons, Ankalaev said he and Pereira can work out another charitable cause.
Once the cage door shuts at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday evening, Ankalaev’s pre-fight promises may go out the window. At Wednesday’s media day, Ankalaev simply said “we’ll see what happens” in regard to implementing his wrestling game.
“He’s going to shoot because he’s going to get tagged on the legs and again, could get clocked in the face,” Adesanya said. “If you say Magomed has good straight shots, that’s something Alex has to watch out for, and he switches a lot. Southpaw will be his best stance, for Magomed, but I think, like I said, Alex is starting to, I’ve seen it in his last fight with Khalil, his low left kick.
“… Maybe I’m banking too much on the leg kicks. I have experience with it. I know how painful it is and how effective it is. Regardless, I’ma go Pereira because, momentum. He is just on a tear right now. I like the way he’s even able to do it with the amount of travel he does.”
Adesanya certainly has experience with those kicks. The former UFC middleweight champ fought Pereira four times across kickboxing and MMA. Although their series record stands at 3-1, in their final meeting at UFC 287, Adesanya finally solved the Pereira puzzle by landing a knockout right hand to win the 185-pound title for the second time. With their once-heated rivalry put to rest, Adesanya and Pereira have no ill-will toward each other.
Adesanya sees the fight against Ankalaev ending early, with “Poatan” getting his hand raised and notching his fourth light heavyweight title defense.
“I just think this is going to go leg kicks, leg kicks, leg kicks, left hook,” Adesanya said. “Alex Pereira by KO. … He’s going to knock him out in the fourth or fifth round.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.
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