Does this one really need explaining?
Not only is the middleweight championship once again hanging in the balance as Pereira and Adesanya renew acquaintances for the second time in the UFC and fourth time in their shared combat sports careers, but this one also feels like a mini-referendum on whether one individual or team can simply have another individual or team’s number?
Pereira hit the fifth round of their title clash at UFC 281 needing a finish in order to secure a victory and he went out and got it, walking down his longtime rival and dispatching him with a barrage of unanswered blows along the fence two minutes into the final stanza. What’s crazy to think is that “Poatan” is still a baby in terms of his MMA career and development, as he’s just 4-0 in the UFC and 7-1 overall, yet stands as an imposing figure atop the UFC middleweight division nonetheless.
Adesanya showed his class and his development as a fighter during the first four rounds of their meeting in New York City, wobbling Pereira at the horn in one of the early rounds, breaking out some wrestling and grappling in order to ground the menacing striker, and flashing his trademark swift striking, but it still wasn’t enough. Now he’s back looking to reclaim the title he’d held for nearly three years and finally earn a victory over his frequent adversary.
Daniel Cormier famously said, “You can’t call it a rivalry if I don’t have a win” following the conclusion of his second meeting with Jon Jones, and you have to wonder that here, too, as Pereira is up 3-0 across two disciplines and just might be Adesanya’s personal kryptonite as a fighter.
But the fact that we’re unsure is what makes this championship rematch so compelling.