Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira booked for UFC 281 at MSG
The anticipated Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira middleweight title defense is set for UFC 281
Alex Pereira had a mission upon his arrival to the UFC, knock out Israel Adesanya in MMA and become UFC middleweight champion.
During an appearance on SportsCenter, Adesanya announced that a bout between him and Pereira will be taking place on Nov. 12 in the main event of UFC 281 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira will meet in MMA, headlining UFC 281 in middleweight title bout
Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira set for UFC 281 on Nov. 12 at New York's Madison Square Garden, Adesanya just announced on @SportsCenter.
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) August 5, 2022
Adesanya and Pereira faced each other twice in kickboxing. Pereira won both times, defeating Adesanya via decision in April 2016 and via a brutal knockout in March 2017.
Both men competed at UFC 276 last month. Adesanya defeated Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision to retain his world championship.
Pereira, meanwhile, scored a first-round knockout of Sean Strickland just a couple of matches prior — a fight that marked the UFC debut of the former two-weight GLORY Kickboxing champion.
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