Alex Pereira is kryptonite for Israel Adesanya and would beat him in a rematch, claims fellow middleweight Marvin Vettori.
The ‘Italian Dream’, who fell short against Adesanya twice, believes that the Brazilian champion has the number of ‘Stylebender’.
‘Poatan’ stopped the formerly dominant champ at UFC 281 last December. He was behind on the scorecards at the time, but came down with a punch in the fifth and final round.
Alex Pereira defeated Israel Adesanya to become UFC middleweight champion last year
Adesanya won on the scorecards, but was stopped in the fifth round
Pereira served heavy penalties and forced the referee to intervene, ending Adesanya’s title reign.
“No, no, if he fights Izzy (Adesanya) again, he will beat Izzy again,” Vettori told The Schmo.
‘I do not know. I feel like he had a mission to beat him and now he’s not even doing that – I mean of course he cares about money because everyone cares about money but he knows it’s risky fighting someone who is very wrestle well.
“But I don’t mind him, I like him. If I get the chance to fight him, I definitely want to fight him.’
Marvin Vettori thinks Pereira has Adesanya’s number and would win in a rematch
Vettori lost a unanimous decision in his last fight against Robert Whittaker, who was then scheduled to face Paulo Costa before the Brazilian and the UFC failed to agree on terms.
Vettori, having faced both Adesanya and Whittaker, gives the ‘Reaper’ a better chance of dethroning the new champion when the time comes.
He continued: “He beats a lot of people, he beat me the last fight, and the dude is solid,” Vettori said. “I think he deserves a title shot too. I do not know.’
He continued, “I think Whittaker can (beat Pereira) because of the wrestling a little bit, and he’s a smart fighter.”
The next step for Vettori is an appearance on British soil on the UFC London main card on March 18.
Taking on rising star Roman Dolidze, he will look to make a statement at the O2 Arena to raise his claim for a shot at the belt.
The Italian thinks Robert Whittaker, who beat him, would stand a chance against the champion
