Israel Adesanya has been told he is putting his legacy on the line in this weekend's immediate UFC rematch with Alex Pereira.
Adesanya lost his UFC middleweight title after being stopped by bitter rival Pereira last year, despite being ahead on the judges scorecards. The Nigerian star did not leave time to ponder his loss however, and will step back into the octagon with the Brazilian at UFC 287 in Miami having an eye on revenge.
A loss for 'The last Stylebender' will be a hugely damaging blow to his time in the middleweight division, given he could find himself out of the title picture for the first time in several years. And UFC welterweight Matt Brown has insisted it is last chance saloon for Adesanya who will be looking to avoid a significant rebuild.
He said on his podcast, The Fighter vs. The Writer, 'The Immortal': "This is his legacy here. He has to beat Alex Pereira for his legacy. It's that important. This is what changes his entire legacy all together. This single fight, and this is probably his last chance at it. If Pereira beats him, maybe he can work his way back to the top but he's working his way back to a third fight against a guy that beat him twice.
"I feel like that's a tough call for the promoters to put together... To me, this is his legacy on the line this weekend, and where he goes from there, hopefully he's not even looking at Sunday and thinking about it. Hopefully this is the last day that matters to him is Saturday."
Adesanya was unlucky to have been stopped in the final round of his first UFC encounter with Pereira, but this is not the first time he has struggled against his rival having been beaten twice in their kickboxing careers. It will need to be a career-best display from the ex-champion who could reclaim his throne and see 'Poatan' switch away from the division with a revenge win.
Do you think Israel Adesanya can beat Alex Pereira? Let us know in the comments section below
It was a battle of striking last time out with Pereira's late barrage seeing him earn the stoppage, with Adesanya suggesting he was struggling with an injury to a nerve in his leg. However Sean O'Malley believes the former title-holder can use his wrestling to pull himself to victory.
“Let’s get it, Izzy. Finish, baby,” O’Malley said on his TimboSugarShow. “I think he’s going to come out and wrestle. I feel like he’s going to come out, he’s got a couple maybe good takedowns — come out, wrestle, put him on his back, really get him thinking. Maybe [Pereira] won’t be able to march forward as much. Who knows? You never f****** know.
"Some people have really good little things that they show in the gym that’s never really been done in a fight. They’re really good at it in the gym. They hit it a lot, but they’ve never done it in a fight — and then boom, they pull it out.”
