Israel Adesanya has been told the threat of Alex Pereira knocking him out for the third time will play on his mind in their fourth fight.
Pereira will make the first defence of his middleweight title since stopping Adesanya when the pair meet in a quadrilogy fight at UFC 287 on April 8. The Brazilian won the belt last November by stopping Adesanya in the final round of their title clash after falling behind on the scorecards.
Adesanya has now lost three fights to Pereira throughout his combat sports career, with 'The Last Stylebender' being beaten twice by his rival during their kickboxing days. MMA pioneer John McCarthy thinks the fourth fight between the rivals could go either way, but the threat of being knocked out will play on Adesanya's mind more than Pereira's given their history.
