LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 02: Alex Pereira of Brazil reacts after knocking out Sean Strickland in the first round of their middleweight bout during UFC 276 at T-Mobile Arena on July 02, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Alex Pereira responds to criticism surrounding his wrestling skills
Alex Pereira, the current champion of the UFC’s middleweight division, responded to critics of his wrestling ability before his rematch with Israel Adesanya. It’s worth noting what an amazing ascent ‘Poatan’ has made. In the UFC, he only needed three victories before getting a shot at Israel Adesanya’s belt. Subsequently, he capitalised on his breakthrough performances and defeated “Stylebender” at UFC 281 to claim the 185-pound championship.
The UFC now intends to revive it at UFC 287 in Miami, Florida, this coming April. Now, Pereira will have the opportunity to reaffirm his status as the sport’s top middleweight. However, Alex’s wrestling has come under fire, and Adesanya may look to exploit it in their rematch.
In a recent interview, Pereira responded and revealed that he had scored a takedown on Adesanya at MSG.
“The people who talk about that are the people that never grappled (me), that trained with (me),” Pereira said. “All the guys that come in and roll with (me), grapple, do some MMA, they leave very surprised and say, ‘Man, I didn’t know he could grapple like that.’ But (I’m) not trying to prove nothing to nobody. (I’m) just doing (my) thing, but stay tuned for the future. He continued, “People say that (I) cannot grapple, but almost nobody could be able to put Israel down with a takedown. (I) took him down, so what’s going on?”
On April 8 at UFC 288, Alex Pereira will defend his middleweight title against Israel Adesanya. This was revealed in a special announcement made by UFC president Dana White last Saturday night. The April pay-per-view event’s location and venue have not been revealed yet.
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira engaged in a thrilling fight in the main event of UFC 281. Pereira rallied to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and became the new undisputed middleweight champion. Israel Adesanya came short in his conquest to avenge the two losses to Alex Pereira in kickboxing. At UFC 281, Adesanya dominated the majority of the fight before ‘Poatan’ rallied in the fifth round to get the finish. He defeated Adesanya for the third time, this time via TKO.
Daniel Cormier has a few thoughts on why a rematch between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya was announced so quickly. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Cormier stated:
“Obviously we all knew that it would be at Israel Adesanya’s decision or discretion whether or not he would get a championship fight. From the moment he lost, I was saying and screaming from the rooftops, ‘If anyone deserves an immediate rematch, it’s Israel Adesanya.”
Cormier added:
“Maybe he’s worried that if Pereira fights someone else, he loses,” Cormier added. “Izzy still holds a ton of cards but I just questioned whether or not the decisions being made are based – or the timing of the decision is based on this newfound push that Alex has been experiencing because of Jamahal being the champion and beating his mentor and training partner in Glover Teixeira. It just didn’t feel like this was in the works before.”
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