Israel Adesanya will attempt to banish the ghosts of his past when he takes on bitter rival Alex Pereira at UFC 281.
The middleweight champion will put his belt on the line at Madison Square Garden on November 12 against surging challenger Pereira who defeated the Nigerian twice in kickboxing. Adesanya first lost a disputed decision to the Brazilian in 2016 before he was knocked out in the rematch 11 months later.
But he insists he will settle the rivalry once and for all, tweeting: "Vengeance is mine says the lord. Bro, I said the same thing too! This ends here. Kill or be killed."
Adesanya won the interim middleweight title by beating Kelvin Gastelum in 2019 before upgrading his hardware when he stopped Robert Whittaker in the same year. He has successfully defended his belt five times since with his run interrupted by a defeat by then light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in 2021.
But the champion has been criticised for a lack of action in his recent fights, including his five-round decision victory over Jared Cannonier last month. But Adesanya insists Pereira will bring out the best in him, adding: "I'm really excited to have someone, finally, who, after the first round or second round they realise they cant do s*** and [don't] just want to be defensive.
"I'm excited to have someone who's going to attack me and try and finish me. This is the story of the fight because he's done it before in the past in kickboxing, so is he going to get knocked out or am I going to get knocked out?"
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Pereira has fought just seven times in MMA, losing his debut before embarking on a six-fight win streak including three in the UFC. He earned a title shot by knocking out Sean Strickland in the first round last month.
"Many people talk about my two wins about Adesanya and say it was just in kickboxing." he said after the victory. "Today, I just beat the No.4 in the ranking so I know I deserve the fight.
“People are watching and they know it’s going to be a good fight. People saw my fights with him and how it went. Even the first one, I didn’t win by knockout, it was by points, but it was a fight that excited everybody. It’s going to be a great fight"
