Israel Adesanya will defend his UFC middleweight title against old rival Alex Pereira in the headliner of UFC 281 on Nov. 12 in New York, Adesanya announced Friday on SportsCenter. Pereira has two wins over Adesanya in kickboxing, including one by knockout. ESPN has Adesanya tied for third on their MMA pound-for-pound list. At middleweight, Adesanya is No. 1 and Pereira is No. 7. Pereira, a former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion, beat Adesanya in kickboxing once by decision in 2016 and then again a year later by knockout. Adesanya (23-1) is undefeated in his middleweight career. The Nigerian-born New Zealander has won three in a row since falling in a light heavyweight title fight to Jan Blachowicz in March 2021. Adesanya, 33, has five successful middleweight title defenses, holding the undisputed title since October 2019. Pereira (6-1) is coming off a first-round knockout of Sean Strickland at UFC 276 last month, the same card on which Andesania successfully defended his title against Jared Cannonier. The Brazilian slugger has five finishes in six professional MMA wins since coming up from kickboxing. Pereira, 35, is 3-0 in the UFC with a pair of $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses to his name.
