The principle occasion of UFC 281 will function a middleweight struggle between Israel Adesanya (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) and Alex Pereira (6-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC). UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira airs dwell from Madison Sq. Backyard in New York Metropolis, New York this Saturday, November twelfth. The principle card will begin with a struggle time of 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 a.m. PT, with the ESPNews/ESPN+ prelims starting at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT and the early prelims kicking off at 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT.
How do these two stack up?
Adesanya: 33 years previous | 6’4” | 80” attain
Pereira: 35 years previous | 6’4” | 79” attain
What have these two achieved not too long ago?
Adesanya: W – Jared Cannonier (DEC) | W – Robert Whittaker (DEC) | W – Marvin Vettori (DEC)
Pereira: W – Sean Strickland (KO) | W – Bruno Silva (DEC) | W – Andreas Michailidis (TKO)
How did these two get right here?
Have you ever heard Alex Pereira knocked out Israel Adesanya? That has — and continues to be — repeated, particularly since each males are about to satisfy once more. However this time might be completely different.
The third-round KO loss to Pereira at Glory of Heroes 7 was the ultimate time we noticed Adesanya in a hoop, because the ‘Final Stylebender’ shifted his focus to MMA solely. He was already 9-0 as an expert, with all of his wins coming by the use of (T)KO. He fought two extra occasions, and earlier than you knew it, he was introduced as the following UFC signee. When he arrived within the promotion, the Metropolis Kickboxing product made fairly a splash. After simply six fights, Adesanya gained the UFC interim middleweight championship and unified titles in opposition to ex-champion Robert Whittaker. Since then, the reigning UFC middleweight champion has remained on his throne, dispatching each challenger in his approach. And for the following one, he stands throughout a well-known foe in Pereira.
Pereira continued kickboxing for 4 years earlier than asserting he was additionally transitioning to MMA within the subsequent part of his profession. In his return to the cage, ‘Po Atan’ scored a brutal first-round KO of Thomas Powell at LFA 95. That win put him firmly on the radar of the UFC and he was signed a yr later. Three fights into his tenure, the Brazilian has earned a championship alternative in opposition to Adesanya in one of many quickest paths to the title.
Why must you care?
Adesanya vs. Pereira has the whole lot you can need from a struggle. The storyline, the excessive stakes and the potential to ship a ‘Struggle of the Evening’ outing. You positively wish to tune in for this one.
