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The MMA Daily: Israel Adesanya opens as betting favorite in potential Alex Pereira rematch

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The MMA Daily: Israel Adesanya opens as betting favorite in potential Alex Pereira rematch

Alex Pereira sent shockwaves across the globe after his standing TKO of Israel Adesanya at UFC 281 to claim to middleweight title; but despite this result, the former champion has opened a small betting favorite in a ‘likely’ potential rematch.

Regardless of the fact the Brazilian has now bested Adesanya three times across two separate combat sports, oddsmakers still believe the Nigerian-born ‘Stylebender’ will hold the edge in a future bout, opening him as a -150 betting favorite on Sportsbetting.ag

Heading into last weekend’s pay-per-view, Adesanya floated around the -210 mark while Pereira assumed the position as a +185 dog, suggesting analysts haven’t put too much stock in ‘Poatan’s fifth round comeback.

As yet, there are no rumblings of when a potential rematch between these two bitter rivals could take place, though both men have signified that they are eager to run it back.

The AllStar MMA roundup

  1. Exclusive: Israel Adesanya: Title or no title, ‘I’m still gonna have a target on my back’
  2. UFC 281: The AllStar MMA Live: UFC 281 Reaction, Recap with Johnny Eblen
  3. UFC Seoul: Doo Ho Choi to take on Kyle Nelson at Feb 4 UFC event in South Korea: Sources

The best of the rest

  1. Israel Adesanya details UFC 281 stoppage: ‘I was waiting for him to gas out so I can do my work’ – MMAFighting.com
  2. Two-time UFC title challenger Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson dead at 38 – MMAFighting.com
  3. NYSAC explains UFC 281 scorecard confusion before Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Silvana Gomez Juarez decision – MMAJunkie.com
  4. Khamzat Chimaev wants Alex Pereira at UFC 283 in Brazil, calls new champ ‘easy money’- MMAJunkie.com
  5. UFC sponsor Crypto.com facing fresh scrutiny after market meltdown – BloodyElbow.com

The soapbox

Eddie Alvarez wants back in the UFC:

Gilbert Burns throws Jorge Masvidal under the bus:

Casey O’Neill truly on the road to recovery:

Renato Moicano targets Conor McGregor next:

Chito Vera just wants a fight:

Kevin Holland and Kamaru Usman’s team get heated backstage at UFC 281:

Marvin Vettori and Andre Muniz might be on the cards:

The morning view

Bryan Barberena on Alex Volkanovski’s chances opposite Islam Makhachev:

The Weasle breaks down Israel Adesanya’s third loss to Alex Pereira:

Dan Hardy previews Derrick Lewis vs Sergei Spivac:

Relive Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson’s illustrious UFC career:

Done deals

Tuesday

  • Shannon Ross to fight Kleydson Rodrigues at UFC 284 on February 11th (per UFC)
  • Jimmy Crute to fight Alonzo Menifield at UFC 284 on February 11th (per UFC)

Roster Watch

Fighters removed this week:

  • None to note

Fighters Added this week:

  • None to note

Credit to UFC Roster Watch

On this day in MMA…

On the 15th of November, 2008, Brock Lesnar became the UFC heavyweight champion of the world at UFC 91 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In what was Lesnar’s fourth MMA bout, he would face veteran and reigning champion Randy Couture to headline the pay-per-view event. After a solid display of his grappling acumen in the first round, the lumbering Lesnar was visibly tired. If he were going to win the fight, he’d have to do so fast.

Midway through the second round, Lesnar clipped Couture with a glancing right hand that dropped the elder statesman. The former professional wrestler dove on top of the champion to deliver a swathe of concussive finishing blows before referee Mario Yamasaki finally mercifully stopped the, ending the 45-year-old’s final title reign.

Lesnar would defend the belt two times before faltering in front of Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 two years later.

Chris Ferguson is a combat sports reporter hailing from the land down under in Australia. He runs short-format interviews with mixed martial arts prospects hailing from the Oceanic region, as well as a weekly newsletter on Substack, breaking down every debuting fighter on each coming weekend’s UFC card. Catch his hot takes on Twitter @CFerg_mma.

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