Israel Adesanya to defend the middleweight title against Alex Pereira at UFC 281

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Israel Adesanya He will defend his UFC middleweight title against his old rival Alex Pereira At the UFC 281 headline on November 12 in New York, Adesanya announced Friday on SportsCenter.

Pereira has two wins over Adesanya in kickboxing, one of them by knockout. ESPN ranked Adesanya at number three on their MMA chart for pound for pound. At middleweight, Adesanya placed first and Pereira No. 7. Pereira, the former Glory Kickboxing Champion in the Second Division, beat Adesanya in kickboxing once by decision in 2016 and then again a year later by knockout.

Adesanya (23-1) is unbeaten in his middleweight career. The New Zealand-born Nigerian has won three straight victories since falling in a light heavyweight title match Jan Blachovich March 2021. Adesanya, 33, has five successful middleweight title defenses, and has held the undisputed title since October 2019.

Pereira (6-1) eliminates in the first round by knockout Shaun Strickland At UFC 276 last month, the same card that Adesanya successfully defended his title against Jared Cannoner. The Brazilian captain has racked up five in six professional MMA victories since coming from kickboxing.

Pereira, 35, is 3-0 in the UFC with a pair of $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses to his name.