Adesanya sets eyes on Alex Pereira revenge
Nigerian-New Zealand mixed martial artist Israel Adesanya will have his shot at revenge against the only man to have knocked him out, UFC light-heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira has claimed.
Alex Pereira defeated Adesanya twice, once on points and on the other occasion by KO, when they were competing in kickboxing.
Pereira made a scintillating start to life in the UFC with a jumping knee knockout on his debut last month, although a tougher test could now be around the corner.
All eyes are on the Brazilian’s development to see if he can string enough wins together to be matched with middleweight champion Adesanya and take their rivalry into the octagon.
Teixeira trains with Pereira and is convinced that he has the tools to fill holes in his MMA game quickly and earn a fight with the champion soon.
He told the MMA Hour: ‘I told him when he signed with the UFC, ‘Hey man, they’ll be talking about you in about one year, three fights.’ Especially the way he fought. It couldn’t go better.
‘I couldn’t be more happy as a coach as a training partner that’s been telling people that this guy is no joke. He’s got a lot to learn, but he’s learning things quick.
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‘He’ll get things quick. I’m talking about you get a regular guy and whatever, that guy’s gonna learn in six months – [Pereira will] learn in a week. You show him a move and he just does it.
The second oldest champion in UFC history went on to add: ‘Alex is kind of like [me in training] and couldn’t have done better [at UFC 268].
‘He got taken down, he defended takedowns, he got up and he stayed there. You see the other guy come out of the clinch, the guy’s face was all messed up, he was dead tired and he come out with the flying knee. So calm, so relaxed.
‘I say three more fights the most, and he wants to fight quick. He wants February already, he wants to fight quick, so he’s going to fight back to back probably.
‘No injuries, no nothing. By this time next year, they’ll be talking about him and Adesanya.’
Adesanya defeated Marvin Vettori to defend his title in June and is yet to fight since.