Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira UFC 281 MSG New York Fight Video Replay Livestream Full HD Part 1

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira will face UFC 281 from Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday, November 12, 2022.

One of the most dominant champions in the sport is Adesanya. He has defended his title five times in a relatively short span of time and has turned away most of the top five in the process . As a result , the UFC started to look outside the box . An easy choice was Pereira, fearsome knockout artist with a pair of wins over Adesanya. Poatan had to do his part to win a series of increasingly difficult UFC fights. He 's climbed the ladder enough to make a reasonable title shot, and now fight fans are getting treated to the greatest striking match- up in mixed martial arts history.

Pereira represents a very interesting challenge for the "Stylebender" project. The Brazilian nearly matches Adesanya 's build and eliminates his usual range edge. Plus, Pereira 's kickboxing experience means he is far from helpless at distance, even if Adesanya prefers closer trades.

Range control will be the decisive factor. As he can only enter the pocket on his own terms, Desanya 's footwork will be tested. If pushed back into the fence, he 's in a ton of danger, so avoiding that black line will be vital.

One way or another , Adesanya will earn Pereira 's respect. A stiff jab will help, but to really back off Pereira, it would help if Adesanya managed to land some hard counters early. Bruno Silva managed to do so by slipping Pereira 's infamous left hook and firing back in combination, so perhaps that 's a potential revenue to early success for the champion as well.

In terms of big picture strategy, the idea here for Pereira should be to fight as if the knockout is not going to land. Obviously, his best shot at claiming the title ends with an unconscious "Stylebender", but he stands more likely to land that shot if he 's trying to keep up with Adesanya on the numbers game.

Most of Adesanya 's opponents can not compete with him at range, but Pereira can. He also can dig low kicks and snap his right teep into the torso. Since Adesanya makes his money by pulling his head back to avoid blows, Pereira would be wise to do more attacking at easier targets, as slowing Adesanya down will help keep his chin a touch more stationary.

I would like to see Pereira really focus on cutting the cage as well. Adesanya is mobile, and the Octagon has fewer tight corners than a kickboxing ring, but Pereira could really make his opponent pay if he traps him along the cage just a couple times.

Bigmoments can easily win rounds, and that would force Adesanya to engage more— a potentially vicious cycle that could end an incredible championship reign.

It's tough to argue this is the best kickboxers battle in UFC history... and there 's a title on the line .

Creditto Adesanya, he 's ran through the division so thoroughly that UFC had to dig into his kickboxing history to find an opponent. If Adesanya passes this test too, he deserves his opportunity to jump up to whatever weight class he would like. As much as I would like to believe Robert Whittaker is still a challenge for a potential third fight, is that really worth preventing Adesanya from attempting to achieve greater things?

As for Pereira, his history with Adesanya has granted him the opportunity for an unreasonably quick rise to title contention. Victory here grants him the undisputed crown and likely an immediate rematch, but it still leaves him in a confusing position. Clearly, he would be the sport 's best kickboxer if he takes out "Stylebender", but is he really the best MMA fighter at 185 lbs. without fighting a grinder like Vettori, Brunson or even Bo Nickal?

Fortunately, that speculation hardly matters compared to raising UFC gold.