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Is Adesanya's career over if he loses to Pereira for the 4th time?
There are concerns about the career of New Zealand professional mixed martial artist, and kickboxer of Nigerian descent Israel Mobolaji Adesanya.
Adesanya suffered a loss against Brazilian Alex Pereira back in November at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
Pereira produced a barrage of shots to knock out Adesanya and become the Ultimate Championship (UFC) Middleweight title holder.
Concern for Adesanya ahead of a rematch against Pereira
The decision of the UFC to announce the rematch between Adesanya and Pereira next has come under scrutiny.
Adesanya dominated the division for a while and some fans were of the opinion that he should have been given a warm-up fight before a rematch against Pereira.
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Pereira and Adesanya have a history in combat sports before their journey to the UFC.
Adesanya suffered two losses in 2015 and 2016 to Pereira in a kickboxing tournament.
Following the defeat in New York, it means that Adesanya has now lost three straight times to Pereira.
former champion Daniel Cormier has expressed concern that the fight against Pereira might not be the best for Adesanya's career.
Despite the first fight going down to the final round, Cormier believes a fourth deafeat to Pereira would do serious damage to Adesanya's career.
On his YouTube channel, He said, “Two factors. Why is it happening now? And for what reason is it happening?
“One; Obviously we all knew that it would be at Israel Adesanya’s decision or discretion whether or not he would get a championship fight.
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"From the moment he lost, I was saying and screaming from the rooftops, ‘If anyone deserves an immediate rematch, it’s Israel Adesanya.
“Because of what he had done in the middleweight division, and honestly what he had done to start his UFC and mixed martial arts career.
“He deserves a rematch and honestly, for Alex Pereira, it would seem to be the best matchup for him in terms of a first title defence."
Adesanya and Pereira will headline UFC 287 scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 8, 2023.
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