UFC confirmed another great fight! Will the champion lose his dominance? Will he be tested by an opponent who has already beaten him twice?

It was expected, but only now we finally got the official confirmation. The UFC has announced a fantastic fight for November’s UFC 281. The middleweight champion will defend his belt against a man who has already beaten him twice.

Israel Adesanya boasts a fantastic record. He now holds a 23:1 record in MMA, with his only defeat coming in the higher weight class when he was beaten by then welterweight champion Jan Blachowicz on points.

Adesanya himself is the middleweight champion, and has been since April 2019. Moreover, he is very active. He has already scored 7 successful defenses, which only shows his dominance. He has beaten practically everyone in his division.

However, in 2021, the UFC signed Alex Pereira as a new fighter. He has already had three fights in the organization and won all of them. Most recently, he defeated Sean Strickland to claim a title fight.

In a way, the UFC was building Pereira up, or rather making sure he got to the title quickly. After all, his MMA record is 6:1, with his first MMA fight coming in 2015, and he didn’t fight on the MMA scene between 2016 and 2020.

What makes Pereira so special? He’s beaten Adesanya twice. Both have kickboxing backgrounds in the famous GLORY organization. Their fights occurred in 2016 and 2017. Adesanya lost the first fight on points, and the second on KO.

Before Adesanya was knocked out in the second bout, he sent Pereira to the count himself. In MMA, however, a count wouldn’t save the Brazilian. That’s why it will be interesting to watch them fight under different rules.

Adesanya is the favorite. After all, he’s been in MMA for a much longer time, has more experience and will be looking to capitalize on it. Moreover, he doesn’t take the fight lightly. On the contrary.

The anticipated fight will take place on November 12 at UFC 281.

Source: UFC, Israel Adesanya