Glover Teixeira expects Alex Pereira to keep Israel Adesanya on his back foot.
Pereira (6-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who trains with former light heavyweight champion Teixeira, challenges champ Adesanya for the middleweight title in Saturday’s UFC 281 main event at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.
Although he holds knockout wins over the likes of Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa, Adesanya (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) has received criticism for his lack of activity in his past few title defenses. But Teixeira thinks Pereira will give “The Stylebender” no choice but to engage.
“I don’t see this fight going the distance,” Teixeira said in an interview with All Access MMA. “I see Alex closing the distance, getting the timing, getting his distance right, and Alex is a difficult fighter to go to a decision with him. I mean, it can go (the distance) because Adesanya moves away and tries not to engage all the time and be really quick getting out of punches, but he’s still going to lose that fight because Alex is going to keep pressuring him. Alex will make him fight, and that’s the problem. When you fight him, you’re getting touched by those hands. You’re going down.”
Pereira already has beaten Adesanya twice in kickboxing, including once by knockout. If Adesanya tries to mix things up by taking down a far less experienced MMA fighter inn Pereira, Teixeira says it won’t work.
“(Adesanya) might go for a shot. He might go for a takedown. But good luck with that,” Teixeira said. “I think it’s going to be a standup brawl, and I see Alex beating him because he looks amazing.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.
