Israel Adesanya knows as well as anyone when Alex Pereira is ready to rock.
The combat sports rivals have squared off twice in kickboxing and twice in MMA championship bouts, with Pereira winning two of those fights via knockout, and Adesanya holding bragging rights most recently when he flattened Pereira at UFC 287.
Pereira subsequently moved up to light heavyweight, where he captured a second UFC title that he has defended three consecutive times. This past Saturday at UFC 307, Pereira was taken to the limit by challenger Khalil Rountree Jr., but emerged victorious with a fourth-round finish.
As he does with most major UFC events, Adesanya uploaded video of his reaction to the main event and the rest of the main card, which can be watched below.
“If Khalil knocks him out, it would be amazing, but I think Alex is going to knock him out,” Adesanya predicted ahead of the fight.
During the contest, Adesanya broke down how Pereira’s strategy differed from previous fights, pointing out how Pereira was keeping a higher guard than usual and that Rountree would need a knockout to win after absorbing a number of debilitating leg kicks in the fight.
He also marveled at Pereira’s ability to continue pushing the pace in the championship rounds.
“Pereira doesn’t look gassed,” Adesanya said. “He recovers well. I’m telling you, he’s a f*cking demon.”
Rountree was actually up on all three judges’ scorecards heading into Round 4, but Pereira appeared to be gaining strength at the end of the third and Adesanya sensed the end was near for the challenger.
“I can feel it,” Adesanya said. “Now, it’s going to be ‘Chama’ time.”
Sure enough, Pereira closed the show with a brutal flurry of offense, hammering a resilient Rountree until he crumbled to the canvas and was saved by referee Marc Goddard.
It was yet another crowd-pleasing performance from “Poatan” and Adesanya made sure to pay him his proper respect.
“He’s got some hard fights in front of him, but he is that guy right now,” Adesanya said.
