UFC 287 - Pereira vs Adesanya: Fight preview, breakdown, predictions, and more

By Lourence Alturino

Image from ESPN.com

One of the most storied combat sports rivalries writes its potential final chapter as Alex Pereira defends the middleweight championship for the first time against his biggest rival, Israel Adesanya. This is now the pair's 4th fight, 2nd in MMA. Back in November, Pereira won the title from Adesanya via TKO in the 5th round. This should be the final fight between these two, who ends the story with the UFC Middleweight Championship?

Alex "Poatan" Pereira (7-1)

This is only Alex Pereira's 5th UFC fight and he is already the 185-pound champion. Pereira has skyrocketed to the top and is now in a position to end his fiercest rival once and for all. Poatan is now 3-0 against Adesanya, the last two fights ending in a finish for the Brazilian.

Pereira is one of the best strikers alive and again proved in his last fight against Izzy that his left hook is the scariest punch in the UFC. Alex training under former UFC LHW Champion, Glover Teixeira, has helped the champ tremendously and we will see the full extent for this fight. Teixeira is a master at grappling, which I feel like Pereira is going to need in this fight. Can Poatan remain undefeated against Adesanya and stay on top of the middleweight division?

Keys for Pereira

- Push Adesanya to the fence

- Cut off the cage

- Target the body

- Beware of potential takedown

Israel "The Last Stylebender" Adesanya (23-2)

One of the greatest middleweight fighters of all time is back to regain his championship, but most importantly to Izzy, this is for revenge. Again, Adesanya has never defeated Alex Pereira and that does something to a man that is indescribable. "Like, f-k the belt, f-k everything else. I have to beat this guy, so that's my motivation, just beating him."

A constant in these fights is that Israel is winning the fight until he isn't and gets stopped by Pereira. If Adesanya is truly motivated by vengeance, he will have to do whatever it takes to win. Izzy is not traditionally a wrestler, but he might have to mix in takedowns as he had a fair amount of success on the ground in the last fight. Will Israel Adesanya finally defeat Poatan and once again become the champion of the middleweights?

Keys for Adesanya

- Stay away from fence

- Push the action

- Mix in takedowns

- BEWARE of the left hook

Breakdown

Adesanya's use of the takedown is really something to look out for in this fight. Izzy is mainly a striker and rarely shoots for a takedown. He did however get one in the last fight and had 6:34 on control time, which is why going to the ground could be a good strategy for Adesanya.

However, again with Alex training with Glover, takedown defense has to have been an emphasis as Pereira continues to learn the sport. You can only imagine how much Pereira and Teixeira have been drilling defending the takedown in preparation for Izzy's change in strategy.

On the feet, these two are practically even. Adesanya having the better movement and being the faster of the two, with Pereira just having the raw power that is unmatched. For as long as this fight is standing, whoever can control the cage is winning. Pereira needs to push Israel's back to the fence as he did in the previous bout and Israel needs to stay away from the fence, fighting mainly in the middle of the cage.

Final Prediction

While Pereira may be undefeated against Adesanya, these fights are always close and competitive. These two are as close to even as you can get. It's hard to go against a man that is 3-0 over the other, however I have the feeling that Adesanya wins this one. It will have to take everything it takes for Izzy to get this one. This is his "now or never" moment and I think he steps up to the challenge. Israel Adesanya finally gets one over Alex Pereira and gains back the championship via decision.