There was something almost disquieting about Israel Adesanya’s calmness, as he sat in front of the media and dissected another loss to Alex Pereira. It was a result that would have destroyed most men, so fragile can the ego be; for Adesanya, it was a third defeat by his own personal bogeyman.
Pereira had stolen a decision win over the Nigerian-New Zealander in their first kickboxing clash, come from behind to knock Adesanya out cold in their rematch, and now he had followed the “Last Stylebender” into mixed martial arts. Scything his way through middleweights, Pereira soon set up a title fight with Adesanya – so dominant atop the division – to present the UFC champion with a shot at vengeance.
