Israel Adesanya had no hesitation when deciding to rematch Alex Pereira.
Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) dethroned Adesanya to claim the middleweight title at UFC 281. With “The Stylebender” up 3-1 on the judges’ scorecards before getting finished, and having defended his belt five times, a rematch was imminent. The pair will run things back in the UFC 287 headliner on April 8 at the Miami-Dade Arena in Miami.
As champion, Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) was one of the most active fighters on the roster and wasn’t about to change his habits just because he lost his belt. He may have lost three times to Pereira, twice in kickboxing, but Adesanya will take his chances.
“I’m not one of these guys who just chills,” Adesanya told The MacLife. “I can duck this guy or wait for this guy or wait for this guy to do this. Nah. Who’s ready to fight? I roll the dice.”
The likes of Daniel Cormier questioned the timing of the Pereira vs. Adesanya rematch, but Adesanya said he was been calling for it as soon as their first MMA fight ended.
“He’s got bragging rights,” Adesanya said. “I got the opportunity to claim it back, but I’m going to say less and do more. … After this fight, I bet you he’s going to move to 205 (pounds). So this is my shot, and this is why I’m putting everything into this.
“This is a part of my story. In any story, there are valleys. Also for him, one man’s hero is another man’s villain. If you look at his life from his point of view, I’m the villain. I’m the guy – the underdog that he beat. I went to the UFC, he chased me, got me, beat me. So this is my story now. This is my time for his story.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.
