Israel Adesanya Makes His Prediction For Ex-Opponent Alex Pereira's UFC 295 Title Fight Against Jiří Procházka

Israel Adesanya will have a close eye on UFC 295 this weekend, as the former two-time middleweight champion’s longtime rival Alex Pereira shoots for a feat he failed to achieve back in 2021.

In Saturday’s main event at Madison Square Garden, Pereira will return to the scene of his 185-pound crowning last November, when he finished Adesanya in the fifth and final frame.

This time around, “Poatan” is looking to have a different piece of gold wrapped around his waist in New York City by defeating Jiří Procházka for the vacant light heavyweight title.

Having shared a combat sports setting with Pereira on four occasions and failed in his own bid at two-division glory less than three years ago, Adesanya is well placed to provide an assessment on the Brazilian’s chances.

Adesanya Backs Procházka To Halt Pereira’s LHW Ambitions

During a video recently uploaded to his YouTube channel, Adesanya broke down the major matchups set to take place inside MSG at UFC 295 this Saturday.

In terms of the headliner, “The Last Stylebender” acknowledged that Pereira already exceeded his expectations by emerging victorious from his light heavyweight debut against Jan Błachowicz this past July in Salt Lake City.

Despite that, though, Adesanya is still backing Procházka to be too much for “Poatan.”

“He did well, better than I expected (against Błachowicz),” Adesanya said. “These middleweights should get on their f*cking knees and thank me, because I got this man out of there. If not , you’d have to deal with him over and over again, all of you. I doubt any of you would wanna f*cking fight this guy.

“I like this fight because they’re both very unorthodox in their approach, their fighting style. The way Pereira leg-kicks, the way Jiří likes to own the space and throw combos,” Adesanya continued. “Pereira is a special human… He’s got a special ability when it comes to putting people asleep… Alex has got the bomb. (Procházka) has to try and defuse the bomb. That’s what makes it exciting. Regardless, I’m going Jiří Procházka… It doesn’t go the distance.”

Pereira will be looking to prove the Nigerian-New Zealander wrong once more by becoming the first fighter to achieve championship success at both middleweight and light heavyweight in the UFC. 

Such an accomplishment would only add to the Brazilian’s already illustrious combat sports résumé, which includes a Hall of Fame career under the Glory Kickboxing banner.

Only one will sit atop the LHW throne Saturday night 👑@Jiri_BJP vs @AlexPereiraUFC #UFC295 | SATURDAY | Live on ESPN+ PPV pic.twitter.com/F8mpSRk0dy

— UFC (@ufc) November 9, 2023

Read Also: Jiří Procházka Explains Why Ex-Opponent Glover Teixeira’s Presence Won’t Benefit Alex Pereira At UFC 295

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