‘Scared’ Adesanya ‘Praying’ Pereira Gets Fitch’d

GLORY kickboxing champion Alex Pereira has finally put pen to paper and will make his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut at some point in early 2022.

Perhaps reigning UFC middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya will pressure the promotion to pair “Poatan” with a Phil Davis-type of wrestler in order to keep the Brazilian far away from a 185-pound title fight.

Sort of how Clay Guida spoiled the Octagon debut of former WEC champ Anthony Pettis.

“Daddy’s in the UFC,” light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira told MMA Fighting’s Trocacao Franca podcast. “Adesanya doesn’t wanna talk about it, ‘This guy is just getting here,’ but he knows it’s a tough one for him. No one gives Adesanya more trouble at 185 than him. I’m not saying he’s going to win, it’s another fight, another time, another style, but Adesanya must be praying, ‘For the love of God, put someone like Phil Davis for this guy.’”

Teixeira knows a thing or two about the wrestling of “Mr. Wonderful.”

Pereira, 34, holds two wins over Adesanya from their kickboxing days. After capturing a unanimous decision victory over the 32 year-old “Anime Nerd” back in early 2016, the Brazilian stiffened “The Last Stylebender” at Glory of Heroes 7 the following year.

“He hits your right rib and the left rib hurts,” Teixeira laughed. “Adesanya is no match for him. First of all, he’ll be coming in shit-scared. [Pereira] knocked him out with 10-ounce gloves. With four-ounce gloves on his hand now… and Adesanya doesn’t have the knockout power Poatan has. He’s fucking good, don’t get me wrong, Adesanya is awesome, but he doesn’t hit like him. Adesanya hits like a normal guy, Poatan is not normal.”

No doubt UFC will ask Pereira to win a fight (or two) before awarding him a crack at the middleweight crown. Not only because the promotion needs time to market “Poatan” to a new audience, but also because Adesanya is already booked to rematch former champion Robert Whittaker in January 2022.

How about Pereira vs. Uriah Hall on the same card?