UFC 281: Israel Adesanya welcomes opportunity to rewrite story against Alex Pereira with title on the line

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira face off during the UFC 281 press conference at Madison Square Garden. Photo / Getty

By Christopher Reive in New York

The universe works in mysterious ways.

Israel Adesanya came to terms with his two kickboxing losses against Alex Pereira some time ago. But presented with the chance to take on his Brazilian counterpart in the UFC, five years since their last meeting in a headlining role at Madison Square Garden, the UFC middleweight champion jumped at the opportunity.

The pair will square off at UFC 281 on Sunday, capping off the most stacked card of the UFC calendar so far this year.

Speaking about the opportunity ahead of him, Adesanya said he wasn’t one to dwell on the results of the past.

“It was never following me around, not in my world,” Adesanya said. “I let this go a long time ago, but the universe blesses you with an opportunity to rewrite history the way you want to rewrite it, so I will.

“Every fight is the fight I have to win; this one just has that extra little butter on it.”

Throughout Adesanya’s UFC career, a short clip of him being knocked out in his second loss to Pereira has been an easy find on social media platforms. It became even more common when Pereira made his UFC debut in 2021 and as he hurried his way up the rankings.

Adesanya is honest with himself about that loss, and dismisses anyone who tries to say that Pereira just landed a lucky shot to hand him the only knockout loss of his combat sports career.

“I’ve never said he landed a lucky shot on me. Whenever I see people say this guy landed a lucky shot, there’s no luck — maybe a little tiny element of luck — but when you set someone up and you want to punch them in the face, you punch them in the face. You meant to do that shit, so I’ve always given him his respect and, when it’s time, he’ll give me my respect. He’ll be forced to.”

Throughout his career, Adesanya (23-1) has risen to the challenge when there has been animosity leading into a bout. The most notable instance being his second-round stoppage of Paulo Costa in 2020, after Costa did a lot of trash-talking leading into the fight

Although he says this bout against Pereira (6-1) is personal, Adesanya explained he meant so on a surface level rather than an emotional one.

“Duality. People don’t understand that. It’s personal, but there’s no emotion in there. When you get in there it’s just work and skills. I’m not going to try and get in his face or mean mug him — he doesn’t even speak English.

“When it’s time, when we’re in there and he’s locked in the octagon with me, it’s a different story. It’s skills that will pay the bills, and my power will.”

Adesanya will be one of four New Zealand fighters on the card. Dan Hooker, ranked No 12 in the lightweight division, puts his spot in the top 15 on the line against surging Peruvian fighter Claudio Puelles in the first fight of the pay-per-view section of the card. Fellow lightweight Brad Riddell will be the featured preliminary bout in a fan-friendly matchup against Brazil’s Renato Moicano, while light heavyweight Carlos Ulberg opens the card against Romania’s Nicolae Negumereanu.