The only fighter to deal Israel Adesanya a knockout loss could soon be joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Alexa Pereira, the Brazilian kickboxer who finished the ‘Last Stylebender at Glory of Heroes 7 back in 2017, is rumoured to make his debut in the UFC cage after three years of mixed martial arts hiatus.
Since knocking out Adesanya, Pereira has racked up nine more victories as professional kickboxer, an impressive run that includes winning the GLORY middleweight championship and defending it for five times.
On Wednesday, Pereira’s teammate and UFC welterweight Laureano Staropoli said the Brazilian is set to join the UFC to claim Adesanya’s middleweight strap.
“Adesanya’s daddy is ready for his ufc debut. in a little while we will see him in the biggest octagon in the world punching his son and taking his Belt,” Strapoli posted on Instagram along with a clip of their training.
Undefeated Champ
Meanwhile, Adesanya joined the UFC in April 2018 and has recorded seven straight wins since his promotional debut.
At UFC 236, he became the interim middleweight champion by outlasting Kelvin Gastelum in a fight for the ages before unifying the middleweight titles months later, with an emphatic finish of Robert Whittaker.
Last month, the Kiwi-Nigerian fighter made a successful title-defence as he outpointed Yoel Romero in their main event title clash at UFC 248.
With an undefeated record, the 185-pound king has no plans of slowing down as he aims to become the first fighter in the UFC to earn a nine-figure payday.
“This [UFC] is where I’m going to end my career,” Adesanya said (per The Body Lock MMA).
“People say, ‘oh, after UFC, you can go to boxing and have one super fight maybe with Canelo and make a hundred million.”
“I’m like, I can do that in the UFC. I might be the first fighter to do that in the UFC.”
Focus On Style
Adesanya went on to explain why he would never leave the UFC for boxing despite the bigger paychecks he could earn in the ring.
“It’s silly. Why would I come to the proving ground of all fighting — the UFC — and then afterward, fight a guy and take away like 80 percent of my weapons,” he added.
“I want to kick people. I want to strangle someone. I can’t do that in boxing. I don’t want to get into the clinch and then okay, break.”
“Same thing with kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, judo, wrestling — they’re all limited styles of fighting. If you want to be the baddest motherfucker in the world.”
“Pound-for-pound…everyone throws that greatest fighter, pound-for-pound is Canelo [Alvarez]. He’s the pound-for-pound maybe greatest boxer right now. Not fighter. You have to test yourself against another style.”
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira)