After a recent run of universally panned performances, former Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was put to the test against his former kickboxing rival Alex Pereira. The result was a return to form for Adesanya in many ways, seemingly aiming to make a statement over a fighter that was 2-0 against him. Despite losing once again, Adesanya showed up for this fight in ways unseen since his domination of Paulo Costa. As the more experienced MMA fighter, the consensus was that Adesanya would utilise his well-respected ring craft to take advantage of the larger, more spacious cage. Adesanya would be expected to pick at the Brazilian with his usual weapons and build upon it as the rounds wore on, the chance of being caught by a Pereira KO remaining ever-present.
Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya: Kicking With The Kicker
The reality was significantly different than expected. One of Adesanya’s greatest tools, his long low kicks, were effectively stifled. Pereira’s leg defence was nothing short of awesome in this fight, opting for a Jose Aldo esque technique. When calf-kicked, Pereira would hinge at the knee and force the kicks to slide into the newly open space. In a best-case scenario, Pereira would knock Adesanya out of position, forcing a reset and creating an opportunity to advance. As Jan Blachowicz proved, a shining leg defence is a key to beating Adesanya and sets Pereira well on the way to making Adesanya uncomfortable.
As much of a kick-heavy fighter Adesanya is, he’s rarely faced opponents dedicated to kicking back at him in his UFC career. Pereira broke this trend spectacularly by engaging in a tit-for-tat low-kick war with Adesanya. Adesanya’s main leg defence (when forced to use it) is typically to retract his lead leg, making the kick miss. As a long fighter adept at using frames and hand-fights, Adesanya’s opponents are typically kicking at him with a severe length disadvantage. Forced to kick at a shorter range, Adesanya’s defence is complemented. However, with Pereira’s nearly identical range, he was able to make this defence troublesome for Adesanya. Pereira’s leg reach allowed him to catch Adesanya from outside the pocket even when Adesanya could retract his leg. Adesanya has since admitted that the low kicks of Pereira caused him issues in the fight.
Controlling The Cage
Adesanya’s ring generalship was lacking in this bout. Where fans and analysts alike expected him to take advantage of every inch of canvas, he failed to do so. Instead, Pereira showed a commitment to cage-cutting unseen in his other fights in the UFC. Whilst Adesanya was finding success in the centre of the cage, Pereira was oft able to walk him down. Adesanya’s bizarre willingness to retreat on straight lines allowed Pereira to march forward and shadow him when he inevitably hit the fence. Perhaps Adesanya was concerned about circling and dashing into a hook or kick from the Brazilian, but his trademark lateral movement was missing from the champion’s toolbox. As a result, Adesanya was mostly unable to control when he was able to utilise the space of the cage. Indeed, even when Adesanya had Pereira’s back against the cage, he was either unable or unwilling to keep him there. Instead, he would stand idly by as Pereira retook the centre of the cage.
Retaking The Centre
Adesanya’s abandonment of his usual savvy ring craft allowed Pereira to land with his heavy strikes at a consistent rate. With Adesanya willingly backing up, Pereira was able to expedite the process with a jab. As Adesanya retreated or looked to circle, Pereira was able to land his jab at chest level. This anticipated Adesanya’s leaning head movement, catching his lower chin as he pulled it back (as showcased by Miguel Class of The Fight Site). Once firmly backed up, Pereira would throw his right straights and body kicks. Despite often landing, these served the dual purpose of herding the champion into Pereira’s greatest weapon: his left hook. As Adesanya instinctively circled away from the oncoming right-sided danger, Pereira would fire off his left hook, often finding his mark or missing it by a whisker. When not throwing high, Pereira aimed his left hook at the body to keep Adesanya guessing and drain him.
To Adesanya’s credit, his first line of defence did seem to frustrate Pereira. As he was pushed to the fence, Adesanya entered his southpaw stance. This served the purpose of putting his lead shoulder in the way of Pereira’s left shots. However, it, more importantly, allowed Adesanya to hand-fight with his lead and muffle the path of Pereira’s left hook. By complicating this weapon, Adesanya was able to cover his exits with a relative degree of success. However, as the fight wore on, the champion appeared to move away from this tactic. Whether he was growing in (well placed) concern over Pereira’s right hand or was losing energy from the constant hand-fighting and battle for exits plus the dedicated body work from Pereira, it can’t be said. What can be seen is his move away from hand-fighting as the fight entered the later rounds, instead opting to level change or lunge for a clinch
Draining The Tank
The clinch work of Adesanya ultimately punished him more than it helped him. Whilst he managed to reverse Pereira several times and bank minutes along the fence, he failed to capitalise upon the clinch to deal damage. He landed some nice elbows and hooks on the clinch break, but the clinch itself was uneventful for Adesanya. Pereira, alternatively, took the opportunity to dig with body hooks and knees. One of these appeared to stun Adesanya, something that Pereira chased before stumbling his way into being taken down. Outside of the clinch, Pereira mixed up his targets with body shots, hooking and kicking low frequently. Attacking the body and legs of a more mobile opponent is always going to be a smart strategy for slowing them down. Adesanya’s elusiveness has often helped him avoid such long-term game plans, but against an even match in Pereira, he became vulnerable.
The clinch also provided another opening for Pereira to find a finish. Adesanya’s lunging clinched when threatened broke his guard, moving his hands whilst not providing a threat to Pereira. Pereira was, therefore, comfortable to counter in the finishing exchange. He would land his shot as Adesanya reached out, shuck off the limp clinch with ease and repeat the process.
Adesanya Minutes From Victory
Adesanya, to his credit, fought to the 5th round and clearly won three of the four. Granted, most were due to big moments, such as rocking Pereira at the end of round one or controlling him on the ground for a great deal of round 3. However, he did have tactics that worked well for him and kept him firmly in the fight. His best was his jab-overhand combo. He would throw his jab to straighten the tall, shorter-stance fighter up, setting him up perfectly. Once straightened, Adesanya could come over the top with an overhand, which clearly upset Pereira multiple times. The combination was landing with impunity, dealing damage even outside of the notable appearance in round one. As Pereira fought on, he would make reads and step back out of range at the sign of the jab. He’d then raise his left arm to block the path of the suspected overhand shot. In spite of this, Adesanya found sustained success doubling up on the combo and mixing up his rhythm.
Adesanya’s body straights, which he had been using throughout the fight to stifle Pereira’s pressure, also provided an avenue to throw his overhand. Late in the fight, Adesanya would change levels and feint a body shot with the intention of dropping Pereira’s hands before firing off the overhand. Whilst smart conceptually, keeping him unpredictable, it ultimately didn’t land with much success and only proceeded to fluster Pereira slightly.
Closing Thoughts
Alex Pereira showed the best version of himself we’d seen in MMA at UFC 281. Perhaps his style is built to beat Adesanya, and when facing opponents with different skill sets and tendencies, he appears less impressive. Perhaps he’s improved in leaps and bounds since his fight with Bruno Silva. His grappling certainly failed to impress the general MMA community. Bouts with Marvin Vettori or Robert Whittaker may, therefore, prove more challenging than the former champion. But ultimately, both main event fighters looked more impressive than we’d seen them look in a long time and fought a fight that will go down in the annals of MMA history. Both men will be forced to make adjustments to cover their holes in the assumed rematch, but Adesanya’s success being more based upon big moments rather than consistently winning the minutes makes his hill that much steeper. We have a new Middleweight champion for the first time in just over three years.
Published on UK Combat Sports (World MMA News) on 22 November 2022
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