On April 8th, at UFC 287 inside Miami’s Kaseya Center, former Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya embarked on his toughest challenge yet. He faced off against nemesis Alex Pereira, a man that has beaten him three times in the past. ‘Poatan’ twice defeated The Last Stylebender in the kickboxing world, before defeating him once again the first time the pair faced off in the Octagon, taking the Nigerian-born Kiwi’s title in the process, as well as ending his undefeated streak in the middleweight division. Oddschecker, which compares combat sports odds and offers, couldn’t split the pair heading into the bout, but it was Adesanya who asserted his dominance for the first time in the duo’s epic rivalry.
It was the former champion who started better and nicked the opening round on the scorecards courtesy of some sharp shooting from the outside. Throughout the second stanza, it looked as though the newly minted Brazilian champion was beginning to get through to the challenger. His flurry of calf kicks seemed to be hurting Adesanya. Pereira was starting to hurt his biggest rival and he closed in for the kill unleashing a vicious attack to both body and head.
But when you have the counter-punching ability that the Last Style bender has, you can never be counted out. With the champion looking to close the show, he left himself wide open, and ‘Izzy’ landed a huge overhand right that hurt the champion. He then landed a second massive right hand which closed the show, ensuring that he returned to the summit of the middleweight division, while his nemesis lay prone on the canvas.
The question now is, what’s next for Israel Adesanya and the middleweight division?
Trilogy With Pereira
The most likely outcome for the champion is a third consecutive bout with the recently defeated Pereira. The reason behind this is that the pair are now tied with one victory apiece inside the Octagon. Fans of Poatan may well say that the score is now three victories to one in favor of the Brazilian courtesy of his two kickboxing victories over Adesanya. And let’s face it, no one has had the newly crowned champion in as much trouble as Pereira did in both fights.
In their first clash, he was awarded a TKO victory after rattling Adesanya with a massive left hand before proceeding to power in more shots. In the second fight, it looked as though he once again had the Last Style Bender’s number until that huge overhand right landed from out of nowhere. Should the pair face off for a third time, the champion will enter the bout as the favorite. But the power of Pereira can never be ruled out, as displayed in the pair’s first three bouts.
Does Dricus Du Plessis Get His Shot?
Outside of the aforementioned Pereira, it’s hard to make a case for any other fighter to have a shot at champion Adesanya. The Last Style Bender has already torn through the middleweight division and defeated every contender put in front of him. He has twice handled number two-ranked Robert Whittaker, defeated number three ranked Marvin Vettori, comfortably dispatched number four ranked Jared Cannonier, and absolutely obliterated number five ranked Paulo Costa. That may well see attention turn to number six ranked Dricus Du Plessis.
The South African submission specialist is unbeaten inside the Octagon and has picked up five consecutive victories, four of which came inside the distance. He recently secured a TKO victory over the hard-hitting Derek Brunson back in March. Prior to that, he easily submitted brash Brit Darren Till, winning so easily that the Englishman has since dropped out of the middleweight rankings altogether.
Many will say that Du Plessis should be next in line, but he may very well have to wait for Adesanya and Pereira to have one final showdown. And should Poatan somehow manage to get the victory, then the South African may have to wait even longer if UFC head honcho Dana White decides that the duo should square off for an unprecedented fourth consecutive bout.