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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 10: Israel Adesanya of New Zealand stands in his corner prior to his middleweight bout against Anderson Silva of Brazil during the UFC 234 at Rod Laver Arena on February 10, 2019 in the Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 10: Israel Adesanya of New Zealand stands in his corner prior to his middleweight bout against Anderson Silva of Brazil during the UFC 234 at Rod Laver Arena on February 10, 2019 in the Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 10: Israel Adesanya of New Zealand stands in his corner prior to his middleweight bout against Anderson Silva of Brazil during the UFC 234 at Rod Laver Arena on February 10, 2019 in the Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 10: Israel Adesanya of New Zealand stands in his corner prior to his middleweight bout against Anderson Silva of Brazil during the UFC 234 at Rod Laver Arena on February 10, 2019 in the Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Fans know UFC champion Israel Adesanya as being undefeated in the middleweight division. His only professional MMA loss has been against Jan Blachowicz at the light heavyweight. Hence, not many know that Adesanya once lost against Alex Pereira via a knockout.
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As a result, when a video of the knockout was shared on Reddit, fans began to discuss it.
A Reddit user asked, “My question is: Will we see Izzy shoot for the first time?”
Another person wrote, “Part of me hates Dana White privilege. The other part wants Alex to get a title shot if he beats Strickland.”
Many people are interested in seeing Pereira face Adesanya yet again. This is clear from another person’s comment who wrote, “I would love to see Pereira get a shot vs Izzy”.
Both fighters first faced each other at ‘Glory of Heroes 1’, where Pereira won through a unanimous decision. However, a year later, they faced each other once again at ‘Glory of Heroes 15’. This time Pereira won the kickboxing match through a much more decisive finish.
READ MORE- Israel Adesanya: Every Single Loss in His Career
The fighter thus won twice against the middleweight champion. Pereira made his UFC debut in 2021 at UFC 268. As a result, many were excited to see if ‘Poatan’ would be the one to defeat Adesanya once again.
After all, the Brazilian has been making his way up the division. He has an upcoming fight against the number 6-ranked Sean Strickland. If he manages to defeat ‘Tarzan’, a title shot would be quite close.
Does Alex Pereira have what it takes to defeat Israel Adesanya in the UFC?
While Adesanya may have lost against Pereira twice in kickboxing, it would be interesting to see how they compete in MMA. Apart from being a great striker, ‘The Last Stylebender’ is also known for being a difficult target to hit. His elusive style makes it a demanding task for his opponents to hit him.
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NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 5: Alex Pereira steps on the scale during the official weigh-in for UFC 268 on November 5, 2021, at Hilton Midtown in New York, NY. (Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
In addition to this, Pereira has won most of his MMA fights through T/KO. Viewers are still to see the wrestling abilities of both fighters. Moreover, their ground game could play an important role if they were to fight, since both the athletes are equally good on their feet.
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What do you think about Israel Adesanya getting knocked out in a kickboxing fight with Pereira?