The
Ultimate Fighting Championship on Friday announced that
middleweight kingpin Israel
Adesanya will seek to defend his crown against a familiar foe
in kickboxer Alex
Pereira on Nov. 12 at the world-famous Madison Square Garden in
New York City.
Set to headline UFC
281, the pair has already met twice under kickboxing rules,
with the Brazilian taking both contests. “Poatan” won via decision
in 2016 and left the Nigerian-born New Zealander unconscious in
2017.
Adesanya is an impressive 12-1 in the UFC and 23-1 overall. He is
undefeated at middleweight, with his lone blemish coming against
former light heavyweight ace Jan
Blachowicz in a 205-title match in March of last year. The 33
year-old last saw action in a unanimous decision victory over
Jared
Cannonier on July 2.
Pereira, 35, owns a relatively light resume for a title contender
at 6-1 (3-0 UFC), but the match has intriguing potential due to the
fighters’ previous meetings under different combat sports rules.
The former Glory champion has a kickboxing record of 33-7.