(Both Glory Kickboxing videos in this article are brought to you by Panda Fighter on Youtube)
After a weekend of no UFC, it's time for Alex "Poatan" Pereira vs Israel "The Last Stylebender" Adesanya 2. Yet, as we all know it is the fourth time they'll be exchanging strikes professionally. Alex has won all three of the matchups between the two in Glory Kickboxing and their UFC Title bout. This rivalry has been very one-sided. Poatan has been in control since their first meeting in 2016. The two warriors fought for the first time in Glory Kickboxing where Pereira won a very tight unanimous decision. Adesanya felt that he won the fight. He isn't the only one as many of Izzy's fans believe the decision was controversial. The first bout was probably the most even fight that they fought. That was Adesanya's first-ever professional loss. This was also the beginning of the legend of Poatan.
Their second Glory Kickboxing bout was for the Glory Kickboxing Middleweight Championship in 2017. The bout only lasted three rounds. Pereira knocked Izzy out cold and won in the middle of the third round. It was an amazing spectacle! Izzy definitely knew he lost this one. It's rare to see someone land a shot on The Last Stylebender that clean, let alone see him flat on his back. Many felt that Alex's ground game would be a weakness for him if the two met in the octagon. Alex disagreed and chased Adesanya to the UFC after Adesanya has become one of the greatest UFC fighters to ever step foot inside the octagon.
Much like their first kickboxing fight, their first UFC bout was a stalemate for five rounds. However, Pereira was able to summon his inner strength and finish Adesanya before the final bell rang. Many fans feel this was an early stoppage as Izzy was left standing, but both he and his coach Eugene Bareman believe Marc Goddard's stoppage was fair. Bareman has said on the MMA Hour that he would have gone down and it's better for his safety that Goddard didn't let him go down. Adesanya was able to take Alex down, but Alex got back up. Izzy even rocked Poatan a few times.
As their fourth battle will ensue on Saturday it is almost time to predict the fight. My gut has been telling me for months now that history will repeat itself and just as their first Kickboxing and UFC bouts ended "controversially," their second bouts will end with Pereira standing over an unconscious Israel Adesanya. Regardless of the outcome, I can not wait. Plus the rest of that card is insane and we will break down the rest of that card later on in another post! Till next time!
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