MMA
Alex Pereira v Israel Adesanya UFC 287 preview: Rematch to settle middleweight division title
UFC 287 gets underway on Sunday morning with the main card a title bout in the middleweight division between champion Alex Pereira and challenger Israel Adesanya.
We preview the eagerly anticipated rematch below.
Alex Pereira
This pair will meet for the fourth time in combat sports and based on the events of their previous fight, this one should be a cracker.
Handing Israel Adesanya only the second defeat of his UFC career and taking his middleweight championship belt in the progress, Alex Pereira became one of the quickest fighters to become a champion in the division’s history, dominating Adesanya and winning the belt via TKO in only his eighth fight.
Not many expected Pereira to win the way he did, asserting his technical ability on the champion with rapid ferocity and a devastating combination in the final minutes that claimed the win when it looked to be going in his opponent’s way on paper.
This rematch is expected to be as scintillating as the last meeting and interestingly, the current champion Pereira is the underdog here at 11/10 as Adesanya closes back in on the belt he will feel is rightfully his.
Pereira has beaten Adesanya three times in a row with the two initial victories coming pre-UFC and on the third, he celebrated by lifting three fingers to highlight his prowess over the other fighter. His best chance of victory looks to be via KO/TKO or DQ at 2/1 with odds of a victory via decision coming in at 5/1.
At 10/11 the fight could go the distance but expect these two fighters to go for the kill from the beginning with odds of 4/5 for it to end before the final bell, offering almost equally good returns.
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Israel Adesanya
The odds favour challenger Adesanya in this one as he returns to the octagon in a bid to reclaim the belt he lost only five months ago.
While he was effectively knocked out when he lost to Pereira, the fight was close and Adesanya is the odds on favourite at 8/11 to return to the top of the podium and if he fights the way he did in the last meeting, there is every chance he will do just that.
The deciding factor will be endurance and concentration when the fight gets into its final stages as the two men are very evenly matched in every department. They are almost bang on the same weight at 184 LB and 185 LB respectively and are the same height at 6’4” with almost identical arm and leg reach.
In the lead up to the fight Adesanya has made it clear that he will leave nothing in the ring in this fight and how he has stepped up his training in preparation. The odds see him as most likely to win by decision at 7/4 with a KO, TKO or DQ at 3/1.
We expect him to come out guns blazing and fight with real aggression in this one as he bids to end his losing streak to Pereira, but in the end, his zeal may come back to haunt him as the man that has defeated him three times in a row pulls on his experience to repeat the result once more.
Our pick is Pereira to triumph via decision as the ardent Adesanya, giving everything he has, takes the champion all the way but ultimately fails to overcome the man that has already bettered him three times in the past.
