ISRAEL Adesanya faces his longtime nemesis Alex Pereira in his bid to regain the UFC middleweight title in the main event ofUFC 287 next Saturday in Miami.
A win could set up a massive third championship bout, or other interesting short-term avenues should he be successful, but where would Adesanya go with a second straight loss?
The Nigerian was dethroned by Pereira at UFC 281 in dramatic fashion, as the Brazilian clinched a TKO finish late in the final minutes of Round 5 of their contest.
Adesanya previously said that the peroneal nerve in his leg had been affected by Pereira’s leg kicks, which slowed down his movement.
He stated that he entered the fight against Alex Pereira with a pre-existing injury that was compounded during the fight.
The two fighters have faced each other three times in combat sports.
‘Poatan’ defeated Adesanya twice in kickboxing between 2016-2017.
The Brazilian added a third victory against ‘The Last Stylebender’ at UFC 281 and has the chance to make it 4-0 when the pair face off once again at UFC 287 in April.
