Israel Adesanya has faith that Alex Pereira can bounce back in a title-fight rematch against Magomed Ankalaev.
After three light heavyweight title defenses, Pereira (12-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) was dethroned by Ankalaev (21-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) in the UFC 313 main event in March. Although he stuffed all 12 of Ankalaev’s takedowns in the fight, he was ultimately outstruck in a unanimous decision loss.
The expectation was for Ankalaev and Pereira to run things back, but according to Ankalaev, “Poatan” isn’t ready for a rematch just yet. If Ankalaev vs. Pereira 2 is indeed next, Adesanya thinks his former foe can avenge the loss.
“I’m so proud of the guy, what he’s done,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “It’s like I created a monster. He showed why he is who he is across two weight classes. I can’t wait to see the next fight with him and Ankalaev again. I think it’ll be another hard one, but I think he can get it done, because it wasn’t a complete washout for that fight. He’s exponentially getting better, as well.”
Adesanya knows a thing or two about avenging losses. Pereira was the one to put a stop to his first middleweight title reign when he knocked him out at UFC 281, but Adesanya was able to exact his revenge by scoring a knockout of his own in their rematch at UFC 287. Two kickboxing matches, and two MMA fights later, Adesanya and Pereira have since buried the hatchet.
