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“In the Next Four Fights I Hope to See Him”- Israel Adesanya Welcomes a Challenge From a Former Foe

Published 11/08/2021, 9:55 PM EST

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UFC 268 featured several exciting fights that the fans were eagerly waiting for. The two title fights, as well as the fight with Gaethje and Chandler, were arguably the most highly anticipated bouts on the card. However, on the undercard, two fighters made their UFC debuts and took the promotion by storm with stunning finishes. 

Ian Garry secured a win over Jordan Williams in the dying seconds of the first round with a razor-sharp right hand. The 23-year-old is a highly-touted talent out of Ireland. Many have already dubbed him ‘The next Conor McGregor’. 

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Similarly, Alex Pereira is another fighter who made a statement at UFC 268 with a stunning flying knee knockout win over Andreas Michailidis. ‘Poatan’ is a multiple-time world champion in kickboxing and is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous strikers in the world in his weight class.

Interestingly, ‘Poatan’ has secured not one, but two wins over the current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya during their kickboxing days. While the first one was a unanimous decision win, the second was a brutal knockout that left Adesanya motionless on the floor. 

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Israel Adesanya vs Alex Pereira- a fight that is bound to happen?

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The Last Stylebender’ runs an active YouTube channel where he shares his mind about the sport he loves. Adesanya also shared his thoughts on Pereira’s win.

He said, “We talked about this like two days ago. We need something new. Especially after you lap the division again. … Good job Pereira, that was nice. One thing I notice is everyone always holds on to that win he has over me like it’s the be-all end-all.”

Adesanya continued, “I hope he does well. I hope he does well through the ranks. In the next four fights, I hope to see him. They’ll show you the knockout, but they won’t show you what happened before the finish. I hurt him, but I only throw (hands) because I was infiltrated by other people’s thoughts. But that was when I was younger. Not anymore. It’s different now. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

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Pereira is just five fights into his MMA career. Against a grappler in Michailidis, ‘Poatan’ did a good job of keeping the fight on the feet. Once he was able to keep the fight on the feet, it was only a matter of time before he landed the money shot.

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Watch this story:- Five Things We Learned From UFC 268

What did you make of Pereira’s performance? Do you think Pereira and Adesanya will face each other in the UFC? Let us know in the comments below!

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Written by:

Kevin Binoy

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Kevin Binoy is a senior UFC author at EssentiallySports. He earned a Bachelor's degree from Fergusson College and has been covering sports professionally for over two years. Besides working with the MMA desk, Kevin is a core member of the organization's web stories team and is responsible for delivering engaging MMA web stories.
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