They say you never forget your first, and that could not be more true for Israel Adesanya, who this November will face off against the first and only person to ever knock him out: Alex Pereira.
Pereira is a member of one of the most exclusive clubs in combat sports history, one of only two people to ever beat Israel Adesanya in the ring, which he did on two separate occasions in 2016 and 2017.
But a lot has changed since then.
Adesanya has become one of the UFC’s most dominant fighters, the incumbent middleweight belt holder, who has won 20 fights and lost only one, a 2021 light heavyweight clash against Jan Blachowicz.
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Has Adesanya forgotten about the only person to ever end his fight early? Take a guess.
“Beating him, that’s what matters,” Adesanya said via Youtube.
“Like, the belt? F*ck the belt. Just beating him, a killer like him, that’s what matters.
“We’ve dusted that off, we’ve cut it off, and I can see what I did wrong.
“So, it’s not gonna be like last time. This is a different fighter you’re facing, and now I’ve become another fighter. I’ve re-birthed myself. I’ve re-birthed it, and I just feel like I want to have fun. That’s the goal.”
Adesanya has been in possession of the middleweight title since 2019, where he first won the interim title against Kelvin Gastelum, before unifying it against Robert Whittaker. This fight against Pereira will be his sixth title defence, the second most for an active fighter behind only Valentina Shevchenko, who has seven.
But Pereira is no slouch, riding some blistering-hot UFC form as late which has propelled him to the title shot.
The Brazillian sports a 6-1 record, but has won those six consecutively, having not lost an MMA fight since his debut against Quemuel Ottoni in 2015.
So is Adesanya nervous to take on his combat sports boogeyman? Is he concerned about protecting his legacy? By the sounds of it, he’s not stressed at all.
“I’m gonna have fun. That’s the ultimate goal. And when I have fun, I’m the best in the world.”
