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https://scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/mixed-martial-arts/article/3154863/ufc-268-alex-pereira-came-here-be-champ-not Mixed Martial Arts
UFC 268: Alex Pereira ‘came here to be champ’, not hunt Israel Adesanya – ‘it makes no difference to me’
- ‘Maybe by the time I get there, Israel Adesanya is no longer champion,’ says Pereira, who makes his UFC debut on Saturday
- Legendary Glory kickboxer remains only man to knock out ‘The Last Stylebender’ in combat sports
Israel Adesanya celebrates as he leaves the Octagon after beating Marvin Vettori at UFC 263. Photo: USA Today
Alex Pereira knows his name will forever be linked with Israel Adesanya – but don’t think that he’s obsessed with hunting down “The Last Stylebender” in mixed martial arts.
After dabbling in the sport in his home country of Brazil five years ago, the 34-year-old kickboxing legend restarted his MMA journey last November with a thunderous first-round, left-hook knockout of Thomas Powell at LFA 95.
A couple more kickboxing bouts later, and the former two-weight Glory champion has now finally arrived in the UFC, with many already forecasting another titanic showdown with middleweight king Adesanya (21-1).
Pereira remains the only man in any combat sport to have knocked out the Nigeria-born New Zealander, though he’s not fixated on repeating the trick in the cage by any means.
“I didn’t just come here to go after Adesanya,” he told reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 268 media day, ahead of his promotional debut on Saturday night in New York against Andreas Michailidis.
“I came here to be a champion. Who knows – maybe by the time I get there, he’s no longer the champion any more? So I’m just focusing on one day at a time. I just got to the organisation, and I want to be a champion here. If I get there and it’s him, fine, if it’s not him we won’t worry.”
Adesanya has taken the world of MMA by storm since his own transition from kickboxing, becoming interim UFC middleweight champ within 14 months of his February 2018 debut in the promotion. He followed that up by becoming undisputed champ in September 2019, and has made three successful – and dominant – title defences since.
But Pereira denied feeling any extra pressure to chase down Adesanya, and to prove his brutal KO victory over him at Glory of Heroes 15 in March 2017 wasn’t a fluke.
“Pressure comes from everywhere,” he said. “But I know how to deal with it. Like I said, it’s hard for me to predict I’ll be fighting him. I don’t know how many fights it will take me to get to the belt. Maybe I’ll jump in straight up there? Maybe they’ll make me do five fights? We’ve got to see what happens.”
The only man to stop Israel Adesanya is now in the UFC.
Alex Pereira knocked out the middleweight champ in the Stylebender's last kickboxing match.
Poatan makes his MMA debut at UFC 268 pic.twitter.com/4qLis4dndm— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) September 9, 2021
“It makes no difference to me,” Pereira added, of constantly being asked about Adesanya. “It’s part of my story. I did beat the guy. Maybe if I had lost to him it would be a little bit [annoying].”
First up for Pereira is the Greek “Spartan” Michailidis (13-4) at Madison Square Garden, and “Poatan” is anticipating a stern test.
“Well, he’s a tough opponent for sure,” Pereira said. “He’s gonna try to take me down, but it’s not something that really has me concerned, to be honest, because he’s not a great wrestler.
“He has good jiu-jitsu. I watched some of his previous fights. He tried some takedowns but was not successful, and you cannot work jiu-jitsu if you can’t take the fight to the ground.”