Stephen Thompson isn’t sure who will win a third fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira, but he knows they have to meet one more time to settle their score.
“Wonderboy has a lot of experience in kickboxing, as well as his decade-long association with UFC. On the latest episode of his Technique Tuesday show, he took a look at the first two meetings between Adesanya and Pereira, both of which took place inside of the kickboxing ring.
Watch Thompson’s breakdown.
Pereira won both meetings, but Thompson did a thorough analysis of each fight to determine what has changed between the two. Adesanya is currently the UFC’s middleweight champion and holds a 23-1 record in MMA, while Pereira has gone 3-0 in the UFC since parting ways with GLORY Kickboxing, where he previously held titles in two divisions.
The first fight took place in China at the Glory of Heroes in April 2016, Thompson noted that Pereira sought power shots, while Adesanya preferred to choose his spots. Thompson also disagreed with Pereira’s decision to score the fight in his favor in Round 3.
“I did not see that at all,” Thompson said. “I did not see Alex winning that. It was definitely an Izzy fight. I wonder what the judges were looking at. I don’t know
Adesanya and Pereira met in a rematch the following March at Glory of Heroes 7 in Brazil and Adesanya again took the lead in Thompson’s eyes before falling to a stunning left hook from Pereira. This was the first time Adesanya had ever been defeated in a professional fight.
“He throws the one and two and, if you look closely, it was really tight with his left hand.” Thompson explained, breaking down Thompson’s ending sequence. “Izzy put his hand up to block, but instead of coming right onto the side, it became more of a straight in, which hit him right on the jaw, putting him out.”
Thompson noted that Pereira used the same left hand in defeating Sean Strickland at UFC 276,, a victory that made Pereira likely to be No. 1 contender at 185 pounds. Adesanya won his title by a decisive decision over Jared Cannonier in that event. This cleared the way for him to meet his rival kickboxer.
Though Thompson doesn’t expect the third fight to be all that different from a stylistic standpoint, competing under a new rule set could alter the circumstances.
“The standup of the two men hasn’t changed much,” Thompson stated. “This is MMA. Anything can happen, anybody can look for a takedown. It’s important to think that way before you go. You’ve got to prepare for that. Are you sure Alex Pereira will look for a takedown or do I doubt it? No. I think this fight’s going to stay standing. It’ll be classic Muay Thai, with more elbows. … I think it’s going to be a great fight.
“I want to watch this fight no matter what. Alex Pereira is Alex Pereira’s opponent. They have a history. This is the only guy to put Izzy to sleep. I think they’ve got to run it back a third time, third time’s the charm. Izzy has to win it, this is how I see it .”
