Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is set to take on his age-old rival and current title holder Alex Pereira at 7:30 am tomorrow, in a clash for the ages, on Sony LIV. Adesanya, who is widely regarded as one of the best kick boxers in the world, had a long and undefeated run in the mixed martial arts world until his last fight where his arch nemesis took away his belt and his win streak once again. Rivals since their time as kick boxers, Pereira and Adesanya have faced each other twice in kickboxing. In both encounters, Pereira came out victories. Pereira, a Brazilian kickboxer who comes from the Pataxo tribe, is nicknamed ‘Poatan’ or stone hands and for good reason. A knockout artist of the highest order, he is known for his thunderous left hooks and powerful knees, which have switched off the lights of many.
In their last outing, the two faced each other in a mixed martial art setting for the first time. This allowed Adesanya, a kickboxer by origin, to wrestle with the less experienced ‘Poatan’. On his feet though, he was a constant threat to Adesanya and managed to knock him out with devastating left and right hooks in the final round. This took his personal tally against Adesanya to 3-0, two wins in kickboxing, one in MMA, and a complete wrecking of Adesanya’s impeccable MMA legacy. This fight is especially interesting, not just for the back story but also because it pits a dominant distance fight like Adesanya, against a man who always tends to beat him with an aggressive and concussive style. For Adesanya this is a fight for redemption, and a fight to finally overcome his demons, their chief being Pereira.
The other side of the story is equally impressive an inspiring. Born in the Pataxo tribe as a hunter gatherer, Pereira made it to the modern world with an alcohol problem and the dream of being a great fighter. Overcoming poverty, alcoholism and extreme competition amongst other things, he became an elite kickboxing champion, beating the best of the best including Adesanya. He continued his journey in kickboxing after Adesanya moved to MMA, only to eventually chase him down in the UFC and beat him again for the UFC middleweight title. Stone hands is as inspirational as he is scary, standing at 6ft 4 inches. He also continues his tribal warrior traditions and is as skilled with weapons as he is in hand-to-hand combat. Evident in the many videos of him with a bow and arrow.
When it comes to the fight, the analysis is quite simple but the result is quite exciting for the audience. In their last fight Poatan gave Adesanya a hard time on the feet. Considering the fact that Adesanya himself is originally a kickboxer, that was not a good sign. He did manage to keep Poatan at bay though but had to give up his leg which was all but destroyed by powerful kicks in the process. Having lost his mobility due to the leg kicks he received, Adesanya had to resort to wrestling, not his natural option but one he is better at than Pereira. This is where he dominated Pereira, as a result he was set to win the fight on points. That was until Pereira came at him like a banshee and tried to take his head off in the final round. Knocking him out on his feet and ending the fight.
The second fight is likely to be similar although how much Adesanya will be able to wrestle a prepared Pereira is yet to be seen. What we know for sure that these two kickboxers will fight mostly on their feet. While the fight is on the feet, Adesanya will keep his distance, use his movement and feints to move in and out of range, all the while countering strikes. Pereira on the other hand will walk Adesanya down at a steady pace and try to close the cage off, in an attempt to corner Adesanya and deliver his powerful strikes on him. This closing of the distance does leave him open to being wrestled by Adesanya, something he must avoid at all costs. That is where the fight is, to see who is better prepared for the other but most of all, to see who has the will to fight till the bitter end.