- BetOnline has opened the betting lines for a third fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira on the condition that it happens in 2023.
- Adesanya is the -185 favorite and Pereira the +160 underdog in the potential trilogy fight.
- Despite Adesanya saying he is “done” with Pereira, he hinted about Pereira “earning his way back to the top” which could lead to a third fight between the two rivals.
Israel Adesanya’s phone, or should we say Twitter lines, were on fire after The Last Styleblender reclaimed the UFC middleweight championship at the main event of UFC 287.
First to send his message to the new champ was another former champion Robert Whitaker whom Adeanya has already beaten twice. In his tweet, Whitaker congratulated Adesanya on an “amazing” win and called him a “great story finisher” before ending his message with a “see you soon” note.
Next to call out the Last Stylebender was former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz who was the first fighter to beat Adesanya in the UFC when the latter moved up in weight to challenge for the 205-pound belt at UFC 259.
The Polish Power congratulated Adesanya via Twitter and offered him a rematch, hinting that he was willing to go down to 185 for the middleweight title to seek a second belt.
But neither of those callouts resonated with the top MMA sportsbooks who usually open the betting lines for the weekend’s winner against a top potential opponent. Instead, the best UFC betting sites have opened the betting lines for a potential trilogy between Adesanya and the man he beat at UFC 287.
On Sunday, BetOnline’s Dave Mason tweeted the opening lines for a potential Israel Adesanya vs Alex Pereira 3 fight. According to the sportsbook, Adesanya is a -185 favorite to beat Pereira again. Poatan hit the betting boards at +160 odds.
🥶 Left him frozen like Elsa #letitgo 🎶 ⛸️✨ pic.twitter.com/YAOR63oeSM
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) April 9, 2023
Frozen Like Elsa
Adesanya regained the UFC middleweight title with a sensational knockout of Pereira at UFC 287 last Saturday night at the Kaseya Center in Miami.
Adesanya opened at -150 odds to reclaim his belt but those odds dropped to -130 two days before fight night. The Stylebender entered the octagon as the -140 favorite and delivered on what he promised.
During the pre-fight press conference, Adesanya told reporters that he was going to put Pereira on skates again but vowed that this time around, he would leave his rival “frozen like Elsa.”
Adesanya put Pereira “on skates” during their first UFC meeting at UFC 281 before making a tactical blunder in the fifth round.
In that bout, the Stylebender was up 39-37 on all three scorecards. BetOnline’s live market listed Adesanya at -1200 odds entering the final round.
However, instead of cruising for the win, Adesanya decided to trade with Pereira until he got hit by the Brazilian’s patented left hook. That punch hurt Adesanya and Pereira went in for the finish, delivering a stunning upset that ended Adesanya’s reign.
There was no such letdown at UFC 287 as Adesanya controlled the fight from start to finish. Although Pereira was able to land some good leg kicks, the Brazilian was never able to unload his big punches as Adesanya was on the move the entire fight.
In that fateful second round, Adesanya appeared to have fallen into the same trap again when he was backed up against the fence. But Stylebender was quicker to the draw as he hurt Poatan with a short right hand and followed it up with another big right that literally put Pereira to sleep.
Israel Adesanya says he is moving on from Alex Pereira after stunning knockout at UFC 287 😅 https://t.co/4zbh2sXyfv #MMA #UFC287
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) April 9, 2023,
Adesanya Says he is Moving on From Alex Pereira
During the post-event press conference, Adesanya hinted that he is moving on from Pereira. After all, he did say before the fight that after Saturday night, he would be “one and done” with his Brazilian boogeyman, even if a win at UFC 287 would leave them 1-1 in the UFC.
According to Adesanya, he gave Pereira the opportunity to fight for the belt at UFC 281 because he was looking for “the challenge”.
Pereira was the guy who beat him twice in kickboxing so he (Adesanya) agreed to take that fight. As far as getting the immediate rematch after the UFC 281 loss, the Stylebender said that he got the immediate rematch because of his body of work.
Adesanya won the interim UFC middleweight title by defeating Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236. He went on to successfully defend the belt six times before losing it to Pereira. He fought in 8 consecutive title fights, including an unsuccessful attempt to win the light heavyweight belt from Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259.
But during the same interview, Adesanya left the door open for Pereira:
“So, I did the hard yards and I earned my f—ing rematch … now he has to do the hard yards if he wants to do it.”
With that said, Adesanya doesn’t think that Pereira will stick much longer in the middleweight division. He believes that Poatan will eventually move up to the 205-pound division, something that UFC President Dana White agrees with.
Dana White Expects Pereira to Move Up In Weight
Alex Pereira has been an impossibly big middleweight. However, his days at 185 may be numbered. Also speaking at the UFC 287 post-event press conference, UFC President Dana White said that he expects Pereira to move up to the light heavyweight division where his weight cut would be far less drastic.
Issues regarding Pereira making weight surfaced on the day of the official weigh-ins. Per White:
“Honestly, I think that Pereira probably moves to 205 after this fight,” White said. “He’s a monster. I know that he still had two pounds to cut leading up to when there was like an hour left in weigh-ins. Yeah. I’m not saying he’s moving to 205, but I’d assume he is. You guys can ask him, himself. But it wouldn’t surprise me. … I would bet anything he moves to 205 after this fight.”
Pereira wasn’t at the UFC 287 post-event press conference, so reporters were not able to get a reaction from him. The former champion has since released a statement but he only mentioned that he would “continue with the plans that are already in motion” after taking a rest. He did not elaborate further.
Before the fight however, Pereira’s coach, former UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira, had previously hinted that his ward is large enough to compete at 205 pounds or even heavyweight. In that interview, Texeira said that Pereira “will eventually” move up in weight but did not specifically say he would do so after UFC 287.
