Israel Adesanya called out by kickboxer Alex Pereira who had knocked him out in 2017

Israel Adesanya is one of those fighters who has seen a meteoric rise in UFC ever since his debut. The undefeated fighter took out everyone in his way before getting his hands on the middleweight title at the main event of UFC 243. There is no doubt that Israel Adesanya looks invincible at the moment and it’s hard to imagine him losing. That said, the Styleblender has also been knocked out in his life. The man who did that claims that he can repeat the same in UFC. So, who knocked out Israel Adesanya?

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UFC: Alex Pereira threatens to knock out Israel Adesanya once again

Alex Pereira,  the middleweight and interim lightweight champion of GLORY, is not a ‘huge name’ in the sport of MMA. However, the 32-year-old is well known as the only man to hand Israel Adesanya a knockout defeat. The duo locked horns against each other in a kickboxing contest in 2017. In the fight, Israel Adesanya faced one of the biggest upsets of his career. The initial two rounds of the fight were a bit slow as both fighters landed clean shots over each other. However, in round number three, Alex Pereira stunned the world by knocking out Israel Adesanya with back-to-back right hook and left hook. Take a look at the fight.

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Since his defeat against Alex Pereira, Israel Adesanya has gone on to achieve the ‘impossible’ in MMA. The African born fighter went against some of the finest of the sport and emerged superior. However, his undefeated streak in UFC might be in danger as Alex Pereira wants to fight him once again inside the octagon. In an interview with MMA Junkie, Alex Pereira said, “For the sport of MMA, Adesanya is one of the best strikers in the sport, but for kickboxing, he is like many others - a guy that’s good, but over a long time didn’t evolve. He is just one of many.” 

The Brazilian further took a shot at the middleweight champion of UFC by saying, “The only place in this world that Adesanya is better than me is in speaking English."

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