Israel Adesanya in search of the promised land at UFC 281

Carla Esparza punches Virna Jandiroba of Brazil during their women's strawweight bout at UFC Fight Night at BB&T Center on April 27, 2019 in Sunrise, Florida. Michael Reaves/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Michael Reaves / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

By Keanan Hemmonsbey

11 Nov 2022

Undisputed middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will face perhaps his toughest task yet in defending his title when he comes up against Alex Pereira at UFC 281 on Sunday morning, 13 November.

Brazilian Alex Pereira (6-1) has defeated Nigerian Israel Adesanya (23-1) twice, albeit in kickboxing, early in both their careers and remains the only person to have knocked Adesanya out in combat sport.

“This is the fight everybody wanted to see, and now they got the fight,” Pereira said on Tuesday.

Despite their fight history dating back to 2016, Pereira maintains the fight is not personal.

“What made me want this fight is the belt. It’s not personal; I just want to have the belt,” he said.

Pereira is relatively new to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) arena, making his debut in the Octagon only 12 months ago.

His first fight was at UFC 268 where he knocked out Andreas Michailidis in the second round. At a UFC Fight Night in March this year, he defeated compatriot Bruno Silva in a gruelling encounter.

UFC 281 Headliners Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira Face Off at The Empire State Building on November 10, 2022 in New York City. Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust/AFP (Photo by Roy Rochlin / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

The Brazilian then went on to knock out veteran middleweight Sean Strickland at UFC 276 to cement his place as a title contender.

“It’s been a perfect year,” Pereira said. “Three wins and a chance to fight for the title; you can’t ask for anything else.”

While Pereira is a rookie in the UFC, Adesanya, despite only being 33, is as experienced as they come.

Nicknamed ‘The Last Stylebender’, he has dominated the middleweight division, currently boasting a 12-fight win-streak – the second longest streak in the division’s history after Anderson Silva’s 13.

“The one who laughs the last laughs the best,” said the middleweight champ about his UFC 281 opponent.

“When I fought him, I thought I won the first fight. In the second fight, he was honestly on skates, the referee saved his ass because I was about to drop him. The third round he knocks me out in his own country – that’s a beautiful story for him, but I’m still here.”

Adesanya has already defended his title twice this year, against Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier.

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However, he has recently come under fire for his fighting style. Adesanya rose through the middleweight ranks as a fighter who displayed impressive finishes and won thrilling battles. More recently he has logged unanimous decision victories in four of his five title defences.

Nonetheless, Adesanya is still one of the trickiest fighters in the business and is a more mature fighter than in the days he lost to Pereira twice in the space of 12 months.

Strawweight belt

There is a second title on the line at UFC 281 on Sunday. The women’s strawweight championship sees belt holder Carla Esparza defending against former champion Zhang Weili.

Esparza (19-6) won the title for the second time in her career with a split decision triumph over Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 in May, while Zhang (22-3) returned to winning ways at UFC 275 in June by knocking out Joanna Jędrzejczyk in the second round.

“Carla is a respectable rival. Her up and down experience is very inspiring and gives me power to keep going on,” said Zhang.

It will be Zhang’s second visit to Madison Square Garden, but last time in New York, she was defeated by No 2 ranked Namajunas in an effort to regain the title. “All the past, all is overture. I won’t make the same mistakes this time,” Zhang added.

‘Fight of the year’

Before the two title fights, Dustin Poirier (28-7) and Michael Chandler (23-7) will show out in the lightweight division.

Even though no titles are on the line – as division champion Islam Makhachev retained his title at UFC 280 – the duel between the two hard-hitting fighters promises to be entertaining.

No 5 ranked Chandler is headed into the fight as the underdog despite his recent win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 274.

By contrast, this will be Poirier’s first UFC hit out of the year. The American Poirier was unable to build on his twin wins over Conor McGregor last year as he lost his next bout, a title fight, to current No 1 ranked contender Charles Oliveira.

Both men enjoy the stand-up war more than grappling, even though Chandler has a wrestling background.

Poirier is an excellent boxer with crisp technique and a big heart in the Octagon. Whereas Chandler is a brawler who lays a massive punch.

Both American men will be well supported as they attempt to draw blood in Madison Square Garden in New York City. The roaring crowd will likely play in Chandler’s favour as a man who is built for entertainment.

The result of the fight is almost inconsequential for fans who know they will be in for a treat regardless of who raises their arm after the third round.

The main card starts at 5am Sunday morning. DM

UFC 281 – Main card

Main event: Middleweight championship: Israel Adesanya v Alex Pereira

Co-main: Women’s strawweight championship: Carla Esparza v Zhang Weili

Lightweight: Dustin Poirier v Michael Chandler

Bantamweight: Frankie Edgar v Chris Gutierrez

Lightweight: Dan Hooker v Claudio Puelles

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‘Fight of the year’