Israel Adesanya excited for Alex Pereira at UFC 280: ‘I’ll slam that ass’

Israel Adesanya finally has a chance to avenge one of their most brutal defeats.

The UFC middleweight champion announced Friday night that his much-anticipated title defense against Alex Pereira on November 12 at UFC 280 is official. It marks the continuation of a chapter that began in April 2016 when Pereira overtook Adesanya in the kickboxing ring. The Brazilian viciously wanted to take out Adesanya in the kickboxing rematch in March 2017, and now Pereira has chased “The Last Stylebender” into MMA, where Adesanya is widely regarded as one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound fighters.

But Adesanya is determined to show why UFC 280 will be different from their last two meetings.

“[The first two fights] are part of the story, part of his story, because the judges agreed with him in the first round, and the next he kicked me out in the third round. So that’s part of his story. But now it’s time for my story,” Adesanya said Friday night sport Center.

“To me, [the difference between then and now] are the gloves. When I said something about the pillow mitts, you can’t hide behind them [big gloves]you can’t defend against it like that in kickboxing [as you can] in MMA. You have to be able to use your brain to move the shot. And my punching style is also very different in MMA than in kickboxing. That’s why I’ve had so much success as a “kickboxer” in MMA because I don’t punch like they do.

“This is mixed martial arts, so I can elbow, I can use my knees, I can get in the clinch and stay in the clinch. There’s a lot more that’s different in this game, and people can just look to the past and the ending and hold on to it. You will need it.”

It’s another quick turnaround for Adesanya, who just made his fifth defense of the UFC middleweight title with a dominant decision win over Jared Cannonier in July at UFC 276. “The Last Stylebender” has been an unbeatable force in the 185-pound division with the UFC since signing in 2018, notching up 12 straight wins in the weight class.

However, he has drawn some criticism in recent bouts for a lack of excitement caused by the bouts, with such criticism peaking in the days following the Cannonier matchup. But Adesanya has also delivered some of the greatest moments of the last decade for the division when faced with an aggressive opponent and he’s eager to see Pereira show exactly the kind of attacking look his recent opponents haven’t been able to offer.

“Have I ever shied away from a fight?” said Adesanya. “I’ve always picked the guy no one wants to fight. The guy everyone is running away from, I run towards. So I run to the fire, and this is no different. And again, after he beat me in Brazil I never intended to take revenge or anything because I don’t hold on to things, I let things go. But again, I’m telling you, the universe presented this to me and it’s right there, it’s the perfect alley-oop, and I’m gonna slam that b****.

“I’m really happy to finally have someone who realizes after the first or second round that he can’t do anything and just wants to be defensive. I’m happy to have someone who can attack me, who will actually try to take me down,” he added. “And that’s the story of this fight because he’s done it before in kickboxing in the past, so for me it’s like, is he going to KO or am I going to KO?

“This guy won’t be gun shy. He will attack me from bell to bell and I will do the same. And every time someone brings the fight, I raise the bar.”

A successful performance at UFC 280 will see Adesanya extend what is already the second-longest winning streak in UFC middleweight history.

And ahead of what could be one of the biggest fights of 2022, Adesanya has already picked up a few tips from a UFC Hall of Famer who knows a thing or two about long winning streaks.

“Funnily enough, I was in Toronto with my fellow GOAT and avatar Georges St-Pierre a few days ago, and we talked at length about legacy, about struggles, about life, and lots of different things,” Adesanya said.

“And through that conversation I had with him, I’ve already moved up. I’ve leveled up a lot so I’m really, really, really looking forward to this fight.”